Psycho Phantom
by Corencio
Summary: Freakshow failed as Master of All Reality, and this world no longer holds any meaning for him. He escapes to Whispering Rock... but can the Psychonauts handle Freakshow's nightmares? And what chaos can be created when ghosts mix with psychics? Find out.
1. The Freak and the Fruitloop

Chapter 1: The Freak and the Fruitloop

Amity Park Penitentiary, Maximum Security- 3:00 PM, Saturday

Footsteps were heard coming down the metal hallway. A tall man of about 42 was walking towards the Maximum Security Holding Center, accompanied by two heavily-armed guards. The man wore a completely black suit and had a grey ponytail. He held his hands behind his back, and the look in his eyes was one of somebody who had evil on his mind. Upon reaching the end of the hallway, one of the guards stepped forward and inserted a key card. The huge metal doors slid open to reveal the most dangerous criminal in the entire prison.

Freakshow lifted his head. He looked as strange as ever with his ghostly white skin, small hat and black overcoat. "Do I know you?" he asked suspiciously. The guards left and the door closed behind them.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Vlad Masters," the man said. He would've held out his hand if it weren't for the handcuffs binding Freakshow's hands together.

"Ah yes, I believe I've heard of you," Freakshow replied. He tried to keep a smile on his face, but after his last defeat that was a nearly impossible task for him. "Tell me… aren't you also known as Vlad Plasmius?" He managed a smirk as he said the words. Vlad was stunned.

"Now how could you possibly know that name?" he inquired. It was his turn to be suspicious.

"Let's just say I've been… enlightened recently. Your arch-enemy is Danny Phantom, correct?" Vlad waited for him to go on. "I've run into him on more than one occasion. I don't suppose you could help me out of here, could you?"

"About that," Vlad said, pacing to the other side of the room. "I might be able to set you free… if you can tell me what I want to know."

"I have a better idea," Freakshow declared, pointing at Vlad as best he could. "You set me free, and I tell no one about your ghost half." Vlad took a step back.

"Who would believe a freak like you?" he asked defensively.

"They have lie detectors here, you know," Freakshow explained. "They'd know I wasn't lying."

Vlad looked around, seeming almost afraid. Then he noticed that there were no security cameras in the room. "Hmmm… If you won't cooperate, then we'll have to do this the hard way." Freakshow was blinded by a flash of light, and the next thing he saw was Vlad Plasmius standing over him.

"What could you p-possibly do?" Freakshow asked with a nervous laugh. "If Vlad Masters doesn't come out of this room, they'll know you did something!"

"But he will," Plasmius replied. He created a single copy of himself. The original Plasmius changed back into a human while the copy overshadowed Freakshow. "See you soon." With that, Vlad hit the metal door twice and was let out by the guards. As soon as the doors closed, Freakshow disappeared.

Castle of the Dairy King, just outside of Wisconsin- 3:14 PM, Saturday

Freakshow had nearly fallen asleep when he heard the sound of footsteps. He grasped the bars of his cage and turned his attention to the stairway. A shadowy figure with red eyes emerged from the doorway. The Vlad copy that had been guarding the cage looked up and flew toward its creator.

"Plasmius again? Why must you keep bothering me?" Freakshow asked in a mildly annoyed tone.

"Because, Frederich, I require your knowledge." Freakshow cringed at the sound of his own name. Vlad stepped into the room and changed back to his human form (having teleported to his house as soon as he was out of sight of the prison). "Have you heard of a certain Reality Gauntlet?"

"Been there, done that," Freakshow mumbled. He sat on the floor and laid his head in his hands. "For all I know the ghost boy has destroyed it by now."

Vlad's eyes went wide. "You had it? And…" His eyes narrowed. "Danny Phantom stopped you?"

"You don't have to remind me!" Freakshow snapped. Then he drew back. "Actually, it might be helpful if you did. I can barely remember the whole ordeal. After he beat me and handed me over to the Guys in White, he wiped some memory out of my mind. Oh, how I wish I knew what it was…" He paused and rubbed his temples. "But the one thing I did learn from using the gauntlet was that you were his arch enemy."

"Ah, so that's how you knew me… and I bet Daniel wiped his true identity from your mind."

Vlad paced back and forth. "If the gauntlet HAS been destroyed, then you are of no use to me."

"Not true," Freakshow replied, afraid of what Vlad might do to get rid of him. "Surely you must be interested in OTHER artifacts… how about the Skeleton Key?"

"You mean THIS Skeleton Key?" Vlad asked, pulling the item out of his pocket. Freakshow twitched.

"Um, yes… well… how about the Ring of Rage or the Crown of Fire?"

"I suppose you were locked up when the Ghost King attacked," Vlad responded, brushing an invisible something off of his shirt and seeming uninterested.

"What about the Staff of Isak?" Freakshow inquired hopefully.

"I looked into that one myself," Vlad said. "Apparently the staff was passed down from generation to generation of a certain Showenhower family." He paused to glance at Freakshow. "I found it near a bridge over the river, smashed to pieces."

Freakshow tugged at the collar of his shirt, desperately trying to come up with something else. His innocent smile couldn't hide the sweat drops forming on his forehead. That's when it hit him. "Ah, of course. Have you ever heard of the Orb of Tesla?"

Vlad clearly hadn't, because he perked up when he heard the name. "Go on."

"Yes, a mystical orb designed by an ancient ghost. The orb is supposed to enable its user to teleport anywhere they want." Freakshow waited for Vlad's reaction.

"You do realize I'm half-ghost? I can already teleport," Vlad scoffed.

"Ah, but can you teleport to other dimensions?" Freakshow had been waiting to spring this bit of information.

He finally had Vlad's full attention. "What do you mean by other dimensions?"

"Tesla designed the orb so that she could get from the Ghost Zone to the human plane. Of course, there are multiple other planes that the orb can travel to, if someone were to get their hands on it."

"And where exactly is this orb located?" Vlad asked.

Freakshow grinned a psychotic grin. "Why, in Tesla's castle, of course. I might be able to show you the way…"

Vlad glared at Freakshow, trying to figure out what diabolical scheme he had planned. "This orb had better exist," Vlad said skeptically. He took his Skeleton Key and opened Freakshow's cage. "Now, where are we going?"


	2. Jazz Fenton, Ghost Psychologist

Chapter 2: Jazz Fenton, Ghost Psychologist

Skulk and Lurk Books, Amity Park- 3:20 PM, Saturday

Samantha Manson was walking around her favorite bookstore, enjoying the dim lights and pounding background music. She was about to sit down at a table when she noticed someone with long orange hair on the other side of the building. At first she thought it was just a tourist who had walked into the wrong place, but then she saw the blue headband and recognized the person immediately. She rushed over.

"Jazz, what are you doing in here?" she asked in surprise.

"Oh, hi, Sam," Jasmine replied. "Just thought I'd check this place out. Did you know that there's a ton of stuff on psychology here?" She pulled out a book, looked at it, and then put it back to continue browsing.

"Yeah, I did. But then I come here every weekend, so I know this place pretty well." Sam turned to the aisle of books to see what was so interesting. One book in particular caught her attention. It was called The Mental World, by Tim Schafer. "Never seen this book before, though." Sam took the book off the shelf and began flipping through the pages.

Before either of the girls knew what was going on, a stranger sprang up behind them and caught them in some kind of green, gooey net. The next second, the aisle was empty.

Railroad Tracks- 3:22 PM, Saturday

The robed woman dropped her two victims onto the ground, leaving them tied up. Sam was able to turn her body around enough so that she could see the familiar red cloak and eyes.

"Lydia!" Sam exclaimed. "What do you want with us!?"

The ghost let down her hood and revealed her green, spiky head. "You two know the ghost boy, correct?"

Jazz rolled onto her side and glanced sideways at Lydia. "What is it to you?"

"Don't talk to me that way, girl," Lydia hissed. "I need help locating a… friend of mine."

"Freakshow?" Jazz and Sam asked simultaneously.

"He's locked up, and we're not helping you break him out," Sam declared, struggling against her bonds.

"He was locked up," Lydia corrected. "Somebody freed him. According to prison records, his last visitor was a Vlad Masters." Sam and Jazz gasped.

"So, you want us to help you take down Vlad? Somehow I can't believe it," Sam said.

"You will get Phantom to help, or my pets will feast on your flesh." She held her cloak open, and her tattoos gnashed their teeth angrily.

"Thank you for that image," Jazz said squeamishly, rolling back to her face-down position.

"I suppose we have no choice," Sam muttered. "But could you please get these cretins off of us?"

Lydia gave a small nod, and the tattoos binding Sam and Jazz flew back to their owner. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to run, Sam pulled out her cellphone and dialed.

"Hey Danny… we've kind of got a situation…"

Somewhere over the ocean- 3:40 PM, Saturday

Vlad Plasmius was at the controls of his Dalv Co. jet. Freakshow, who had never been one for sitting down, was walking around the back of the jet, admiring the technology.

"How do you know where this castle is?" Vlad asked without taking his eyes off of the sky.

"Lots of studying," Freakshow answered, examining some flashing lights on one side of the jet. "Oh, and of course Lydia found some information in the Ghost Zone."

"Lydia?"

"A ghost I know." Freakshow stopped what he was doing when he thought about Lydia. "Oh dear… she's probably wondering where I am…"

"If you don't mind me asking, why would she care where you are? She's just a minion, isn't she?"

"Well… yes and no. Sometimes even I wonder why she… wait, why am I still talking? Lydia is none of your business," Freakshow snapped. "You might want to keep looking forward. We're almost at the island."

Vlad chuckled evilly and continued piloting.

Railroad Tracks- 3:25 PM, Saturday

"This day has been completely random," Sam sighed as she waited for Danny and Tucker to arrive. She and Jazz were locked in separate train cars of the Circus Gothica train.

"It's always something," Jazz agreed. She laid back and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts entertain her. Since she had been captured, a question had been gnawing at the corner of Jazz's mind. She decided that now was as good a time as any to ask.

"Why exactly are you looking for Freakshow?" Jazz directed her question to Lydia, who was standing outside the car and facing away from it.

"His orders."

"I mean why are you trying to get him away from Vlad? Normally the minions don't…"

"I'm not a minion," Lydia barked. She quickly regained her composure. "I want to make sure he's okay."

"I've never met a ghost who actually enjoyed helping humans." Jazz was met by silence. "Not much of a talker…"

"My problems are none of your business."

"Whoah, who said anything about problems?"

"I saw how you messed with Fred... Freakshow's mind. You will not do the same thing to me." Lydia pulled her hood over her head, clearly to say that she was cutting off the conversation.

"I doubt that," Jazz said quietly. She smiled to herself and continued waiting.


	3. Tesla's Island

Chapter 3: Tesla's Island

Railroad Tracks- 3:35 PM, Saturday

"Sam! Jazz!" The Specter Speeder rushed towards the group at the tracks and Danny phased through the front of the vehicle. "What's going on here?" Meanwhile, Tucker parked the Speeder near the circus train and jumped out.

"Calm yourself, ghost child," Lydia spoke. "No harm will come to your friends. That is if you assist me."

Danny was tempted to blast her, but he knew that would only cause more trouble. "What do you want?"

"First off, I want your friend to step away from my prisoners." Tucker was pulled away from the train by a chain of tattoos.

"So much for that plan," Tucker sighed. He found himself in the same cage as Sam.

"Second, you will help me bring down Vlad Plasmius and rescue Freakshow."

"What the heck would Vlad want with Freakshow?" Danny wondered. "Surely he knows as much about ghostly artifacts as Freakshow does…"

"Not quite," Lydia replied. "There is one that Vlad doesn't know about. I can lead you to them, you will deal with Plasmius, and I'll free Freakshow."

"So in other words, I do the hard work while you and your boyfriend escape?" Danny crossed his arms and waited for an answer.

"I will assist you in your fight. I'm sure neither of us could defeat him alone, but we'll be able to stall him together."

"I guess I really don't have a choice," Danny muttered. "Okay, I'm in."

Somewhere over the ocean- 3:50 PM, Saturday

"There it is… the Island of Tesla," Freakshow pointed out. He was standing behind Vlad's chair.

"Don't tell me this ghost created an entire island out of nowhere," Vlad said skeptically.

"I'm not saying she created it. Perhaps she discovered it and made it undetectable so that she could build her home on it in peace."

"As much as I hate to say it, that makes sense…"

The Dalv Co. jet approached the island and came down for a landing. Vlad noticed that the sun didn't shine as brightly in this area as it did over the ocean. The darkness was almost inviting. The engine powered down as the jet touched the ground. Vlad pulled it to a stop in front of the stairs leading up to Tesla's castle. Vlad grabbed Freakshow's collar without a second thought and phased the both of them out of the jet.

"Anything I need to know before going in?" Vlad asked.

"Well, you see, the door can't be opened without the right key, and ghosts can't move through the door."

Vlad's anger flared up for a second. "And of course you tell me this NOW, when we're nowhere close to getting the right key." He tossed Freakshow onto the ground and created a bubble of ecto-energy around him. "Fortunately for you, I've got away around Tesla's security." Vlad flew up to the door and pulled out the Skeleton Key. Before he could insert the key, however, a familiar voice interrupted him.

"Hey Vlad! Did you forget where YOUR castle is?" Danny shouted. He, Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Lydia were standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Where did you come from!?" Vlad sneered.

"Haven't you heard of teleportation?" Tucker responded, pointing his thumb at Lydia.

Vlad glared through his shield at Freakshow. "You told me it wasn't possible to teleport here!"

"He has a tendency of lying through his teeth," Danny advised.

"How else do you think Tesla got on and off the island?" Freakshow asked. "I was just trying to stall so Lydia could get here before you." Even in his depressed state, he managed to smile at his own trick.

Lydia turned at the sound of Freakshow's voice and immediately started attacking his prison.

"Save your energy, girl," Vlad said. He turned the key and threw the doors to the castle open. Lydia appeared in front of him and lashed out at him with her fist. Taken by surprise, Vlad ducked out of the way just in time.

"Jazz, Tucker, we've gotta get in there and get the artifact!" Sam directed. The other two nodded and ran toward the stairs.

"Forgetting somebody?" Danny questioned, throwing a ghost ray at Vlad. Vlad dodged by sinking into the ground. Lydia flew out of the castle and looked around for her target.

Without warning, two Vlads emerged from the ground, each attacking a different enemy. Danny was knocked toward Freakshow and Lydia was tossed into the castle once more. Sam, Jazz, and Tucker ran past Lydia to look for the orb.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, could you help me?" Freakshow asked timidly.

Danny turned to him. "I don't think so… this'll work until you return to your regular cell." He flew at the Vlad copy, leaving Freakshow trapped and even more depressed.

Tucker and Sam ran to each side of the castle while Jazz checked the back. "Is it just me, or are there no doors in here?" Jazz wondered aloud.

"The castle was built by a ghost," Sam told her. She sighed. "We're gonna need Danny's help."

"He's kinda busy," Tucker pointed out. "And I doubt we'll get her to help," he added, referring to Lydia who was finally recovering.

"So, Daniel, do you think you're accomplice is enough to defeat me?" The original Vlad prepared to blast Danny, but a shield prevented him from doing so.

"Actually, I think I could take you myself. You just happened to tick her off." Danny fought back with his own ghost ray, pushing Vlad into Freakshow's prison. Lydia looked up and saw Vlad in a vulnerable position. Ignoring the copy, she jumped into the air and sent a wave of tattoos at Vlad. He only had enough time to look up at his attacker before the swarm surrounded him and started to claw and bite him. When the tattoos returned to their master, Vlad had changed back into a human and his copy had disappeared.

"Wow… definitely don't want to get you angry," Danny joked to Lydia. She smirked at him but said nothing. At that moment, Vlad's shield disappeared and Freakshow stood up.

"I'm free! I knew you wouldn't abandon me, Lydia," he told her. They exchanged smiles. "Now to take care of my problems once and for all!" He glared at Danny.

"In case you haven't noticed, I just helped save you from Vlad," Danny said to Freakshow.

"You think that makes up for the pain you've caused me? First you ruined my circus, but no, that wasn't enough for you! You had to take away my ultimate weapon! I had total control over reality and you ripped it all away!!!" Freakshow paused and resumed his usual calm before continuing his rant. "If I can't win in this reality, maybe I need to try another one! Lydia, take me to the Orb."

Danny tried to blast them, but Lydia had already whisked the two of them away. Danny flew toward the castle in an attempt to stop them.

"Hey Danny, we could use some help…" Tucker started to say, but Danny had already phased through the floor.

"Oh, that's really nice," Sam said sarcastically.

"Hey, I know how we can get down there!" Jazz exclaimed. "But you guys are gonna have to help." She ran out of the castle, Tucker and Sam following closely.

Danny emerged from the ceiling into a room without a floor. Torches in the shape of skulls were attached to the walls, giving off a flickering light. He saw Freakshow and Lydia standing on a platform with a pedestal. Danny could see some kind of glowing orb atop the pedestal.

"Did you have a destination in mind?" Lydia asked, a smile playing across her face.

"Anywhere but here," Freakshow said with a grim smile. He reached for the orb and held it above his head. The orb started to glow.

"You're not going anywhere," Danny declared, aiming his hand at the orb. Freakshow turned to him for a second before looking up at the ceiling.

"I believe you have other things to worry about." Freakshow smirked and pointed up. Confused, Danny looked up and saw his friends phase through the ceiling by using Vlad's body. The three of them fell past, leaving Danny without time to think. He flew after them at full speed.

"What are you guys doing!?" he shouted as he caught all four (including Vlad) on an ecto-shield.

"How were we supposed to know there was a fifty foot drop under the floor?" said Tucker, annoyed. Danny lifted them to the spot where Freakshow and Lydia had been. In their place was a blue, glowing portal that was slowly getting smaller. "Oh well… they got away."

"No they haven't," Danny responded quickly. "We can still follow them. Hold on…"

"What? But we have no idea…" Before Tucker could finish his protest, he had been thrown through the portal with his comrades. Danny left Vlad outside on the platform before squeezing through the portal himself, leaving it to close behind him.


	4. Welcome to Whispering Rock

Chapter 4: Welcome to Whispering Rock

Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, Main Lodge- 4:30 PM, Saturday

Danny, Sam, Jazz, and Tucker rolled out of the portal, followed immediately by rolling down a hill. The four finally stopped at a three-way intersection of dirt paths. Squirrels, birds, and lizards scampered to get out of the way. Jazz was the first to reorient herself and look around.

"This place doesn't seem too bad," she commented. There were a few trees, plenty of green grass, and a few picnic tables to their right. Jazz looked behind her to see a large wooden building on top of the hill they had just gotten acquainted with. A hollow tree stump also caught her eye. One of the other paths led down to a parking lot, and the second led to a long, curvy bridge. The place seemed to be completely devoid of people.

"Looks like some kind of camp," Tucker said as he picked himself up and looked around.

"The question is, what kind of camp?" Sam wondered as she recovered.

"Actually, I think the question is where Freakshow went," Danny corrected.

"I'd rather ask that question," Tucker said. "After all, I don't think we're getting back to our own dimension without the orb he has." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Danny's breath turned blue.

"They can't have gotten far. I can still sense Lydia." Danny flew into the air and scanned the entire area… without any luck. His face showed it.

"We came through the same portal. There's no way the two of them could've gotten that far, even by flying," Jazz reasoned. She turned her attention again to the hollow tree stump. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she walked over to investigate. Of course, one particular squirrel wasn't paying attention and ran under her foot, tripping her. She was gone a second later.

Danny flew back down to his friends. "They've gotta be around here somewhere…"

"Hey, where'd Jazz go?" Sam asked. Tucker and Danny looked around and were surprised to see that Jazz had disappeared. "And how come I'm the only one who noticed?" Sam added, glaring at her friends. Tucker and Danny looked at each other awkwardly and shrugged.

"Maybe this universe has the power to make people disappear," Tucker suggested.

"Or maybe we're not looking in the right places." Sam walked over to the hollow tree stump and looked inside. Confused, Tucker and Danny went over to see what had her interest.

Agent Nein's Lab- 4:31 PM, Saturday

Freakshow took a look around. "What kind of freak would live in such a… tacky room?"

"I'd say a scientist," Lydia responded, examining the table with all sorts of chemicals and notes on it. "And yes, I knew that question was rhetorical."

Freakshow walked right up to the giant piece of machinery in the center of the room and touched it. "Wonder what this is for," he asked again. Lydia turned around and looked at it, but remained silent.

Before they could investigate further, Jazz sprung out of the hollow tree stump in the corner and landed in the room. "Oooh… that's one crazy ride," she moaned.

Lydia hissed. "What's SHE doing here?"

"What are YOU doing here?" Freakshow repeated. Jazz looked up and saw the villains hovering over her. Her eyes grew wide.

"Um… looking for you?" she replied timidly.

"You'll be sorry you found us," Lydia growled. "For as long as you live, anyway."

Jazz's eyes widened and she jumped behind the stump as Lydia floated into the air to unleash an attack. She opened her cloak and a wave of tattoos surged toward Jazz… only to be stopped by a glowing green shield. Most of the tattoos dissolved on contact, but some of them bounced back into the room. A few of them hit the machine in the center, while a few of them hit Lydia.

"Doesn't matter what universe you're in, we can always find you," Tucker said as he and Sam leapt out of the hollow stump. Danny had already phased into the room to deflect the attack.

"Nice timing," Jazz said quietly.

"Why must you people constantly irk me?" Freakshow asked in frustration. He took a few steps toward the center of the room, looking down at Lydia to see if she was okay. He looked back up at them. "Let's see you follow me this time!" He pulled out the Orb of Tesla and held it up.

"Won't have to," Danny said, quickly firing an ecto-blast at the orb.

"Danny, what are you thinking!?" Sam shouted. "If you destroy that thing, we'll never get back home!"

"Just trust me," Danny told her.

The ecto-energy refracted through the orb, and sparks of blue energy began flying everywhere. "What have you done?" Freakshow demanded. He would have said more if the machine behind him hadn't been zapped. The Brain Tumbler started spinning, and Freakshow was in the perfect position for it. Not only that, but the orb was still glowing and emitting waves of ecto-energy. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz shielded their eyes as the glow became brighter. Lydia watched in terror as Freakshow's eyes glazed over and the orb slipped from his hands. It made contact with the ground, and in a giant flash of light, everybody in the room had disappeared.


	5. Carnival of Chaos

Author's Note:

Hey guys! I'm amazed at how many reviews I've already received O.o Seriously, what are you people doing? Ah well, I can't complain. I'd just like to point out that this story is almost entirely written already... all but the last chapter is posted on another site. I'm just posting the chapters here whenever I have the time. So, thank you for the attention, and please enjoy the show ^_^

Chapter 5: Carnival of Chaos

Somewhere- 4:31 PM, Saturday

Sam awoke to the sound of crying. She looked around and saw green and purple tents scattered about. Drawn to the sound of the crying, Sam looked down and rubbed her eyes. At her feet was… a crying duffle bag? She noticed that there was a giant padlock beside it. Upon closer examination, she found a label attached to it. The label read: "Emotional Baggage 1 of 5, Carnival of Chaos."

"Emotional baggage?" Sam mused. "Where have I heard that before? ..." Her eyes grew small as she realized what had happened. She quickly pulled a book out of her backpack. It was the same book she had picked up earlier, entitled The Mental World. She glanced at the table of contents briefly and flipped to a picture of the same bag she was standing over. "I'm in Freakshow's mind," she gasped. She flipped back to the beginning of the book and started reading.

A particularly loud train whistle brought Danny to his senses. He looked around, but everything was blurry. He tried to get up and was quickly knocked back down by the force of the wind in his face. He noticed that he was on some kind of moving platform. Afraid of what he might find, he looked over the edge of the platform. The words "Circus Gothica" screamed out at him.

"Oh man! What am I doing on this train!?" Danny exclaimed. He got up carefully and looked around frantically.

"You're getting what you deserve," said an all-too-familiar voice from behind him. Danny spun around and saw Freakshow standing there, holding his staff.

"Freakshow," Danny growled. "What did you do?"

Freakshow grinned maniacally. "Actually it's what you did," he laughed. "You've given me a chance… a chance to finally rid the universe of Danny Phantom!"

Danny fired an ecto-blast at Freakshow, but his staff blocked it. The red orb glowed, and Freakshow's eyes also lit up. Danny took a few steps back, fearing the worst. In a flash of light, Freakshow transformed into his ghost form.

"What? But how?" Danny asked, floating to the next train car.

"When you took the Reality Gauntlet, you trapped me here!" Freakshow shouted, swinging one of his claws at Danny. Danny jumped out of the way.

"Here? Where is here?"

"Freakshow's MIND," the ghost answered. Danny blinked twice before realizing the trouble he was in. He wasn't fighting the real Freakshow… he was fighting some kind of twisted thought inside Freakshow's head!  
Unbeknownst to her, Lydia had appeared right next to Jazz and Tucker. She couldn't see them because they were inside the House of Mirrors. Lydia looked around, pulled up her hood, and began to explore.

"This day just keeps getting weirder," Jazz said as she walked around inside.

"Tell me about it," Tucker responded. "First we get zapped to that weird summer camp, and now we're in the freakiest carnival in the world."

"I don't think this is in the real world…"

"Excuse me?"

As an answer, Jazz pointed to a nearly invisible green image floating a few feet away from them.

"AH! Ghost!" Tucker exclaimed, hiding his head in his arms. Jazz walked up to it and examined it.

"Not quite… but pretty close," she said. "Have you ever seen a ghost that looks like this?"

Tucker stopped hiding and walked up to it. "Now that you mention it… no." The ghost image was wearing a top hat and holding a cane. "…What ghost would WANT to look like that?"

Back on the train, several missiles fired out of "Freakshow's" top hat. Danny created a shield around himself, but the missiles still forced him back. The ghost followed up by blasting the shield with red energy from his staff. It shattered and Danny was thrown back.

"Gotta get out of here," Danny mumbled to himself as he tried to get up. He concentrated his energy and phased into the train car. He immediately fell on top of some kind of moving safe which broke open on contact. Danny rolled off of it, rubbed his backside and looked at it. "Okay… what's this supposed to be?" He took a closer look and his vision was suddenly overtaken by some kind of slide show.

In the first picture he saw Freakshow in chains, being questioned by the Guys in White. Danny gasped as the next picture showed the Reality Gauntlet with its four glowing gems. He became even more disturbed when he saw Freakshow WEARING the Gauntlet and standing next to Lydia. In this picture, the Guys in White were being attacked by their own weapons in the background, and Lydia was surrounded by… a pink glow? Danny raised his eyebrow but didn't have enough time to mull over the image. The next thing that Danny saw was himself and his friends struggling with Freakshow at the Dumpty Humpty concert. In the next scene Danny fell to the stage, and finally in the last scene he was back to his human self.

"This… this is impossible!" Danny exclaimed. "I erased everyone's memories… I set time back to normal…"

"But you failed to get rid of all of the evidence," said the ghost of Freakshow from behind him. He put all four of his hands on Danny's shoulders and sent a powerful wave of ecto-energy through him. Danny didn't even have enough strength to scream before he fell to the ground.

Sam was sitting near a tent, delving farther into the book. "This isn't good… this is SO not good… we can't leave his mind until we've sorted out his mental problems!? That'll take forever!" She was so busy reading that she didn't notice the shadows that were dancing around the ground near her. The shadows chuckled quietly as they surrounded their target.

"There's gotta be a way out of here," Jazz said. Tucker was still examining the figment.

"Wonder what happens if you touch it," he wondered. He reached for it, and it was suddenly absorbed into his hand. "Whoa! That felt weird…"

Jazz smacked her forehead. "You have no idea what that thing might've done to you!" she protested.

"Relax. I think that actually helped me," Tucker said.

"Good to know," said a voice from behind him. "Because you're gonna need all the help you can get."

Jazz's eyes grew wide as she watched Tucker's reflection step out of the mirror and into the room. Tucker turned around and saw the evil doppelganger. His eyes also went wide. "Nice clone," he said timidly, "don't do anything evil…" He backed up until he was standing next to Jazz. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around again, only to find that Jazz's reflection had also come to life. Both reflections had evil grins on their faces.

"We're in trouble," Jazz said.

"Where's Danny when you need him?" Tucker wondered.

Danny opened his eyes slowly. He looked at his hands and found that he was still in ghost form. Confused, he looked up and saw that he was trapped in a circus tent without an exit. His eyes wandered upwards, and he was surprised to see that the ceiling of the tent was beyond his vision. "Wow. I guess the laws of physics don't apply inside people's minds. It's a good thing that they don't apply to ghosts, either." Danny walked up to the wall and tried to phase through it. Instead, he got a painful shock when he touched the side. He let out a yelp and stumbled back from the wall. "Okay, Plan B." He jumped into the air and began to float upwards. The tent was a lot taller than he had first thought. After going several yards, the sides of the tent started to close in on him. He sighed. "Can't anything in this universe be normal?" he asked himself before taking off at full speed.

Sam closed the book and smacked her head into the pole behind her. "Guess I'd better get started," she said, picking herself up off the ground. Before she could take three steps, the shadows around her took form. She gasped and backed up into the pole. In front of her were three familiar looking ghosts… the circus freaks that Freakshow had controlled during the incident at Circus Gothica. "Hey, guys," Sam said timidly. "Remember me? I helped free you from Freakshow, remember?"

"Nice try," said the midget.

"Freakshow has ordered us to take care of the intruders," the big guy said. All three of them prepared to hit her. Thinking quickly, Sam jumped out of the way and the three ghosts hit the pole. It fell over and crushed a nearby tent. The three turned around, but Sam was nowhere to be seen.

"She won't get far," said the third ghost. All three smirked and phased through the ground.

"That was easier than I thought it would be," Jazz said, wiping her hands together. The evil versions of herself and Tucker had dissolved once they were beaten.

"Speak for yourself," Tucker responded, examining his slightly bruised arm. "You don't really hit that hard, do you?" Smack. "Ow! Hey, it was just a question…"

"Let's get out of here," Jazz suggested.

"…How?" Tucker asked, looking around at the labyrinth of mirrors. There didn't seem to be an exit.

"Easy. None of this is real," Jazz answered. She kicked her leg through a mirror behind her, opening a portal to another part of Freakshow's mind.

"Tsch. I coulda done that," Tucker whined before following Jazz through the portal.

Lydia was still looking around. She had passed a few shadows on her way, but none of them rose to attack her. She continued wandering until she finally found a dead end. She muttered quietly under her breath and tried to phase through the wall, without success. "That's just great," she complained. She turned around and found that a tent had mysteriously appeared. She glared at it for several seconds. It didn't respond. She sighed heavily and flew into it.

She flew right into herself.


	6. Mastermind

Chapter 6: Mastermind

Whispering Rock- 4:27 PM, Saturday

"That was easier than I thought it would be," Razputin said, hopping out of the jet. Ford Cruller, Morceau Oleander, Sasha Nein, Milla Vodello, Lili Zanatto and her father followed Raz out of the jet. Oleander turned around and nodded at the jet, closing it with his mind.

"You're telling me that this kid…" Mr. Zanatto motioned towards Raz. "…has what it takes to be a Psychonaut?"

"For your information, this kid here helped me deal with my own personal demons," Oleander said, patting Raz on the back.

"He even saved the lives of Sasha and Milla, not to mention ME," Lili added, smiling at Raz. Raz smiled back, and Sasha nodded in agreement.

Mr. Zanatto's eyes went wide. "Did he now? In that case, I say he deserves more than a job!"

"NO! Get… away… from me!" Sasha exclaimed, grabbing his head. His outburst startled everybody. Sasha sent a powerful wave of psychic energy from his mind, forcing Vlad away from him.

"Ah! You weren't supposed to be that strong," Vlad complained, holding his forehead.

"What ARE you?" Sasha exclaimed, backing away from Plasmius. The other psychics did the same.

"You people have obviously never seen a ghost before," Vlad replied, his entire body glowing with ecto-energy. To himself, he muttered, "That must mean that Daniel and his friends are elsewhere."

"Whoever you are, you're going down," Lili shouted. She sent a psychic blast at Vlad. Of course, it went right through its target.

"Oh please. You people aren't a threat to me at all." Vlad threw an ecto-beam towards Lili, but Raz jumped in the way and shielded.

"Maybe not alone," he said heroically, "but together…" Milla, Sasha, Oleander and Zanatto stood next to him, staring down their opponent.

"Together you're still nothing," Vlad interrupted. The psychics were blasted out of consciousness by three of Vlad's copies. "I never get tired of that," he smirked, calling his copies back to him. "Now to find my orb. That circus freak couldn't have gotten far with it."

Freakshow's Mind, the Abyss- 4:31 PM, Saturday

"This does not look promising," Tucker said, looking around at the great abyss that he and Jazz had walked into.

"Something tells me we're getting closer to Freakshow's core," Jazz stated.

"…Was that supposed to sound like a good thing?" Tucker asked. Before Jazz could respond, a hole appeared in the ground in front of them. Tucker barely avoided walking straight into it. Jazz nearly did, but Danny flew through the hole and caught her.

"Whoah! Jazz! Tuck! I was about to go crazy in here," Danny said, floating down to his companions.

"This place is crazy enough," Tucker replied.

"Danny! Tucker!" The boys looked and saw Sam running towards them.

"Sam! Are you okay?" Danny asked, landing on the non-existent ground. She shot a look at him. "Um… right… standard question."

"I'm fine. And I know how we can get out of Freakshow's mind!" she declared. She pulled out the book and handed it to Jazz, who flipped through the some of the pages.

"…Under any other circumstances, I'd say the author was insane," Jazz stated. "But in any case, we should probably look for Freakshow's main mental problem."

Danny rubbed the back of his head. "I'm pretty sure I've met him," he groaned. "Freakshow's ghost form. Oh yeah, and Freakshow still remembers the incident with the Reality Gauntlet."

"This does not bode well," Tucker said.

"For you," said a sinister voice. The four of them turned and saw a four-armed ghost wearing a top hat.

Freakshow's Mind, a Circus Tent- 4:31 PM, Saturday

Both Lydias quickly jumped away from each other. The original carefully examined the mental version. The two circled each other cautiously. "You're me," the original said, sounding unsure of herself.

"And you're from the real world," the other Lydia said. The original was surprised that the mental copy knew about the real world, but did not show her astonishment.

"Where exactly am I?" the original asked.

"In Frederich's mind, of course," the mental version said with a smile. Lydia raised an eyebrow at her mental counterpart. "I'm sure you have plenty more questions. All will be revealed in time, but first you must find Freakshow and help him."

"What's wrong with him?" Lydia asked. Her clone chuckled.

"Oh, there are plenty of things wrong with him," she laughed, "although that's probably why the two of you are so close."

"…If you weren't me, I'd kill you for that," Lydia growled. If she were human, she knew she would have been blushing. "Where can I find him, anyway?"

"Through there," the mental version answered, motioning through the tent opening behind her. "Have fun." She winked and vanished. The real Lydia smacked her forehead, glared at nothing, and walked through the doorway.

Whispering Rock, Agent Nein's Lab- 4:32 PM, Saturday

Vlad scanned the room carefully, noticing the sparking machine in the center and the charred spots on the floor. "I can't be too far behind," he said to himself as he floated up to check the rest of the structure. His eyes darted to the hollow stump where Raz had just appeared. "You're almost as persistent as young Daniel," he said smirking. He threw an ecto-beam, but Raz was already prepared with a shield. Vlad's amused look became a glare. Raz jumped onto his levitation ball and rose up in front of Vlad, just barely missing him with a psi-punch. Vlad reappeared next to the entrance. Raz landed on the stairs and became invisible. The glare proceeded into a look of shock. "Shields, energy blasts, levitation, and now invisibility? You might as well be a ghost! Very well child, if that's how you want to play." He grinned evilly and also faded away. Energy blasts, ecto and psi, flew across the room from all sorts of random directions. Back where he started, Raz's invisibility wore off and he looked around frantically. Fortunately he remembered his power of clairvoyance and jumped out of the way just as Vlad tried to hit him from behind. Vlad became visible again, realizing he had lost his advantage. He floated to the ground, placing himself between Raz and the malfunctioning Brain Tumbler. "Not bad, boy, but playtime is over." He created three clones, and all four sent a blast of energy at Raz. Raz's shield could not withstand all of them, and he fell to the ground, his clothes sizzling from the blast.

"What… are you?" Raz asked as he slowly got up.

"Weren't you listening before? I'm a ghost," Vlad replied. "The most powerful ghost you'll ever see."

"Okay, the hairstyle was a clue, but now I definitely know you're crazy," Raz gasped. Vlad recoiled at the lame attempt at witty banter. "But as a Psychonaut, I know just how to deal with that." Raz pulled a Psycho-Portal out of his pocket and sent it at Vlad's forehead. Vlad floated backward, but quickly went intangible so that the portal passed right through him and attached to the Brain Tumbler.

"Clever, but you're still no match for Vlad Plasmius." He raised his hand for a final ecto-blast, but was interrupted by the sparks coming from behind him. Raz's eyes went wide as Vlad turned around. The Psycho-Portal was open, and for some reason it was reacting with the Brain Tumbler…

Expecting the worst, Vlad became invisible and intangible. Raz tried to levitate the Psycho-Portal back to him, but he was too late. His eyes went blank as his astral projection flew into the portal. Caught in the wave of psycho-energy, Vlad found himself being sucked in as well. Unbeknownst to the ghost or the Psychonaut, the Psycho-Portal couldn't tell ghosts from astral projections. Despite all of Vlad's efforts to escape, he was pulled into the machine.

Freakshow's Mind, the Abyss- 4:32 PM

Lydia wandered in right behind Freakshow's ghost form. "Freakshow!" she gasped, running for him, looking almost happy. But before she reached him, he fizzled out of existence. Shocked and confused, Lydia shot daggers at Danny and his friends.

"What just happened?" Jazz asked.

"I have no idea," Raz responded. Tucker and Jazz blinked at the mysterious appearance of the small child. "But I'm betting it has something to do with that guy." Raz pointed toward Vlad, who was floating in the air above all of them. On his arm… was the Reality Gauntlet.

"What… what's this?" Vlad thought out loud, looking at the Gauntlet. He smirked, answering himself. "This is whatever I want it to be." The ghost boy lunged at him, but Vlad quickly snapped his fingers and Danny disappeared. Vlad smirked and gave a sinister look to the group before him. "Next?"


	7. Twisted

Chapter 7: Twisted

Freakshow's/Vlad's Mind, the Lab- 4:33 PM

Green eyes flickered open, and Danny lifted his head to look around. The area was still mostly dark, but he noticed a glowing green light in front of him. He rubbed his eyes and stood up. He rubbed his eyes again, for he couldn't believe what he was seeing. In front of him was a genuine ghost portal. He walked toward it and stuck his hand through, verifying the cold and lifeless breeze of the Ghost Zone behind it. "This is impossible… Freakshow doesn't know about this!"

"You can never be sure in these mental worlds," came a voice from behind him. Danny spun around, hands glowing. Behind him was a small kid in a fancy uniform with dark orange hair.

"…Who are you?" Danny asked.

"I'm Razputin, an official member of the Psychonauts," Raz responded. "How much do you know about psychic powers?"

"Nothing," Danny responded, closing his eyes and putting a hand to his forehead. "All I know is that Vlad entered Freakshow's mind and has total control over it now…"

"Hm. Sounds like a case of entwined psyches."

"What?"

"But what caused it? Maybe the damage to the Brain Tumbler… Sasha's lab did look pretty beat up…"

"Razputin!" Danny shouted. "What's going on!? How did you get here? And why—"

"Sorry, sorry. I just got a little carried away. But I can't really explain anything until you tell me your side of the story," Raz said.

And so Danny (reluctantly) explained about the Orb of Tesla, and how he and his friends had been sucked into Freakshow's mind.

"I see," Raz responded. "So that guy wasn't lying about being a ghost…"

"How did Vlad even get here?" Danny asked. "And what's he…" A thought occurred to him. "…What would happen to a person's Mental World if it were overshadowed by someone else's?"

"That sounds a lot like what I mentioned earlier," Raz said. "His world would be combined with the other person's. I should know, it happened to me once."

"We've gotta do something about it!" Danny exclaimed.

"I can get out of here and see if I can detangle their brains," Raz offered. Danny raised an eyebrow in a "you must be kidding, that's disgusting" sort of way.

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Danny said. "All we need to do is beat Vlad here in the Mental World, and that should kick him back out into reality."

"That works too," Raz agreed. "But first we need to get back to wherever he is. And it looks like that's the only way out of here." He indicated the glowing portal. Danny nodded, and he walked through the portal, closely followed by Raz.

Vlad's Circus, the Abyss- 4:33 PM

Lydia used her tattoos to block Vlad's attacks, trying to get in a good shot. But he still had the Reality Gauntlet, allowing him to dodge the strange creatures with ease. Sam, Tucker and Jazz tried to escape, but the Abyss was too vast to find any exits.

"What've you done to him!?" Lydia shouted, dodging another ecto-beam from Plasmius.

"Freakshow's fine," Vlad replied calmly, deflecting a tattoo with the Gauntlet. "He's just been banished to another part of his mind. And I don't intend to let him out." He smirked, then launched an energy orb at Lydia, knocking her back into an invisible wall. She winced in pain, but she managed to get up and send a wave of tattoos at Vlad. Vlad simply disappeared. After the wave passed, he reappeared in the same spot. "You can't beat me, and you have your pale friend to thank," Vlad taunted, snapping the fingers of the Gauntlet. An anvil fell on Lydia, but she quickly phased out of the way. "The Reality Gauntlet gives me total control of this reality. And before long, I'll find a way to bring it into the outside world, allowing me to take over the world!" He laughed maniacally.

"Fat chance," Sam muttered. "With our luck, none of us are getting out of here."

"There has to be a way!" Jazz protested. "We just need a way out of here so we can find Freakshow's greatest demons!"

"There is no way out of here," Tucker countered. "It's nothing but darkness! Even if there was a way, we can't see it."

At that moment, Lydia was thrown into a wall on the far side of the abyss, and a red "cancel" sign appeared there. It opened up, and two giant creatures flew out. Each one wore a blue suit with hats and glasses, and both looked incredibly strong. One of them punched Lydia, sending her flying back toward Vlad and revealing its "NO" tattoo on its fist.

"What new inconvenience is this?" Vlad wondered, throwing Lydia to the side. The two Mega Censors headed for him, and a low drone of "no" could be heard from them. Vlad raised an eyebrow. As soon as one of them aimed a fist at him, he vanished. The censors looked around in confusion. A second later, one of them flew through the air, exploding into small bits of psychic energy against the wall. Vlad brandished the Reality Gauntlet at the other censor, but it insisted on attacking. He disappeared again, went behind it, and smashed it into the wall. "Child's play," he said, smirking.

Sam, Tucker and Jazz were having more difficulty with a few normal censors. They tried fighting back, but only Tucker had managed to destroy one of the censors. Sam and Jazz were just barely able to avoid being stamped out. Sam was seconds away from being destroyed when a small creature came out of nowhere and ran into the censor. It flew backwards and exploded. Sam looked around for the source and saw Lydia float up in front of her.

"Thanks," Sam said reluctantly.

"You're welcome," Lydia said, smiling. Sam raised an eyebrow… and then realized this wasn't the same Lydia. Her aura was strangely positive. Rather than question the odd occurrence, Sam kicked an oncoming censor to the ground.

Tucker punched out another one of the regular censors. "Hey, anyone see where that kid with the orange hair went?"

Cirque de Freakshow- 4:33 PM

Danny and Raz came out on a large floating island in the mental Ghost Zone. The portal behind them disappeared, leaving a gaping green void behind them. Danny looked ahead and saw a gigantic circus tent with a decrepit sign above the entrance. It said "Showenhower Family Circus".

"Something new and different," Raz said sarcastically.

"Really?" Danny asked.

"Um… no," Raz responded. "I was raised in the circus."

"Oh."

After a few awkward seconds, Raz got on his levitation ball and rolled into the tent. Danny flew after him.

The first thing they saw was a medium-sized room with several doorways. Scattered around the room were a few figments of clowns and animals, and running around in the center of the room was a memory vault. Danny recognized it as the thing he had accidentally opened earlier and backed away. "What is that thing?" he asked.  
"It's a memory vault," Raz said. "It holds memories from whoever's mind you're in."

"Could something like that work even if the said memory was erased?" Danny asked uneasily.

"It's possible," Raz responded. "There was an issue of True Psychic Tales where the bad guy brainwashed an important scientist, and Agent Sasha Nein had to…"

"Okay, I get it," Danny said. He floated over to the memory vault and tapped it slightly.

"You have to hit it," Raz told him. Then Raz proceeded to run around gathering figments. Danny nodded and threw an ecto-beam at the vault. It cracked open. Danny prepared himself for another slideshow.

This time, he saw a boy about his age with deathly white skin and no hair. The boy was rolling across a tightrope on a unicycle, looking quite stressed out. The next slide showed a goth girl in the audience watching Freakshow and smirking. Then the girl was walking next to Freakshow. The two seemed to be talking, and Freakshow was looking a lot happier than he did in the previous slide. He must not have known that the girl was pulling some money out of his back pocket. After that, Freakshow was shown holding the scepter that allowed him to control ghosts. Danny closed his eyes the instant he saw it, but then realized it was only a memory and wouldn't have any effect on him. In the final slide, Freakshow was wielding the staff. That same girl was in front of him, being attacked from all sides by ghosts. Freakshow was glaring at her vengefully as his minions tortured the thief.

"Okay, are you coming?" Raz asked, looking at Danny from one of the doorways. All the figments had been cleared. Danny blinked rapidly and looked at the small child.

"Yeah," was all he could say. The two of them drifted further into Freakshow's mind. The next room was one of the weirdest things Danny had ever seen. "You deal with this often?" he asked, tilting his head. In front of them was an array of floating platforms, trapezes, bars and tightropes. The platforms were at all different angles; some were even sideways or upside-down.

"Yep. Just follow me and we'll be fine," Raz said. He jumped on the trapeze in front of them, leaping to the first platform with his psi-float. Danny sighed and followed.


	8. Have a Nice Flight

Chapter 8: Have a Nice Flight

Vlad's Circus, the Abyss- 4:35 PM

"It's been fun," Vlad said, smashing another mega-censor. "But now I really must be going." He waved the Reality Gauntlet at the black sky, and a giant door not unlike a psycho-portal appeared. He teleported up to it and yanked on the doorknob. It didn't move. He glared at the door and pulled harder. The Reality Gauntlet glowed red as he punched the center of the door. The attack didn't make a dent. "What is this? I control this world! Why can't I get out of it!?"

"What'd I tell you?" Sam asked. "We're all trapped!"

"What about that kid?" Jazz asked. "He found a way in here. I'm sure he can find a way out!"

Vlad appeared behind her. "Thanks for the idea," he said, smirking.

Jazz turned around and, concentrating on her hatred of Vlad, threw a punch at him. She didn't expect her attack to cover her arm with psychic energy. Vlad was caught off guard and was thrown back by the psi-punch. Jazz stared at her hand in amazement. Vlad glared at her.

"You'll pay for that," he said menacingly, snapping his fingers.

Cirque du Freakshow- 4:35 PM

Raz pulled out his cobweb duster, clearing the path in front of him.

"Nice trick," Danny said.

"A Psychonaut is ready for anything," Raz responded. And then he disappeared. Danny blinked.

"Except for that, apparently," he muttered. He floated through the doorway and was instantly engulfed by darkness.

Vlad's Circus, the Abyss- 4:35 PM

Raz appeared in front of Vlad. "Ah, welcome back," Vlad said. "Now I command you to tell me how to get out of this universe."

"Easy. Just let me beat you," Raz answered cockily. He ran up to Vlad and tried to psi-punch him, but he went right through.

"Hey! That's what I did!" Jazz exclaimed. "Except… I actually hit my target…"  
Cirque du Freakshow

Danny used his ecto-beam to light up the room. He could hear circus music distantly in the background, and he could just barely see the striped walls of the circus tent around him. "I'm never going to the circus again," he muttered to himself.

"You won't be able to," said a distinctly female voice. Danny threw an ecto-blast in the direction of the voice, and the darkness in that section of the tent receded.

"Who's there!?" he called. A claw reached out at him from the ground. He just barely dodged.

"Let's just say I'm a personal demon…" the voice replied. The room grew lighter, and a shadowy form appeared in front of Danny. "…With a little more personality than usual." She smirked.

"Just what I need," Danny groaned. "You're that girl who tortured Freakshow as a kid?"

"I wouldn't call it torture," the demon giggled. "I mean, he WAS a freak. I was just doing my part for society."

"Ya know, I don't deny it," Danny said hesitantly, "but that didn't give you the right to take advantage of him. But then, you didn't know he had a ghost-controlling heirloom." Danny returned her smirk.

Her eyes narrowed. "I guess its time for me to get some payback… ghost." Before Danny could tell what was happening, he was dragged into the ground by several claws. His screams of pain were heard for a few seconds. Then the claws threw him back onto the ground. He shook off the pain and threw an ecto-beam at the demon, but she once again became shadows on the wall. A claw reached for Danny again. He shielded himself from it. Three more claws reached out at him. It was all he could do to keep them from catching him.

Vlad's Circus, the Abyss- 4:36 PM

Raz jumped at Vlad. He ran into a wall that appeared out of nowhere.

"Tell you what… you get me out of this world, and I might not completely destroy you," Vlad suggested pleasantly.

"Not going to happen," Raz said, regrouping near Sam, Tucker and Jazz.

"Um… anything we can do to help?" Tucker asked.

Raz took out a confusion grenade and hurled it at Vlad. "You're psychic?" he asked Jazz.

"I didn't think I was," Jazz responded. "But I can punch stuff."

"Maybe you can help distract this guy," Raz told her.

"That would be great… if I could fly," Jazz said. As soon as she had said it, she began to float. Her eyes grew wide. "Ah! What's going on!?"

"Telekinesis," Raz said, concentrating his energy on Jazz. "Get ready."

"For what- aaaaaaah!" Jazz went flying through the air. She saw that she was quickly approaching Vlad. She concentrated and swung her arm. Her psi-punch smashed right into another wall, protecting her from hitting it herself. She fell to the ground and landed on her feet; that is, until the ground started to shake. She fell backwards as the piece of ground she was on rose into the air. The same thing happened to Sam, Tucker, and Raz. In fact, pieces of land were rising into the air all over the place.

"I love having this much power," said Vlad. His eyes glowed purple and he took a deep breath. "If you won't help me, then DIE!!!" His ghostly wail shook the whole area.

Cirque du Freakshow – You get the idea.

Danny heard the wail. "What was that?" he wondered. He floated backwards into a wall as ten different claws lunged at him. Danny glared and unleashed his ghostly wail. The arms dissolved into nothingness, and most of the shadows on the walls also disappeared. The shadow girl appeared in her true form again, panting from the attack.

"Not bad, kid," she sighed, "but it'll take more than that to take me out." She shot a red beam of energy at Danny. Danny caught the blast in his hand and threw it back at her. She dodged.

"Whoah! That's never worked before," Danny said in amazement.

"And it won't work again," the girl said, lunging at him from behind. He flew out of the way.

"I've gotta end this somehow," Danny thought. He fired several ecto-blasts at the shadows, but they either regenerated or shifted out of the way. "Wait… that's it!" He snapped his fingers and sped toward a wall. The shadow girl emerged for a counterattack. She didn't expect the flash of blue energy or the freezing sensation in her limbs. Her frozen form fell to the ground. Danny gave the ice sculpture a good kick, shattering it into a million pieces and creating a giant hole in the floor. "So much for Freakshow's cold shoulder," he said. "Man, my witty banter seriously needs work." He jumped into the hole.

Vlad's Circus, the Abyss

Everyone was thrown against the invisible wall of the abyss. "I will say this one more time. Open the portal, or DIE." He pointed the Reality Gauntlet directly at Raz.

"Do your worst," Raz spit at him. Vlad raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't tell me… this is a situation where you can't die?" Vlad asked, annoyed. Raz cringed. "I read your mind." He pointed the gauntlet at Sam. "But THEY don't have the same protection that you do," he said menacingly. Raz sighed.

"Okay, I'll do it," Raz consented. He levitated up to a platform and concentrated on the giant door in the sky.

"Think he has a plan for when we get outside?" Tucker asked sarcastically.

"Nope," Sam responded.

Danny appeared out of nowhere. "Alright, I'm back! And I defeated Freakshow's demon!" he declared triumphantly.

"Perfect timing, Daniel," Vlad smirked. "Too bad you won't be able to defeat me, especially in the real world!"

The door above them burst open, revealing a blinding whiteness and sending sparks of psychic energy flying everywhere. Raz, being the closest to the door, flew through the opening immediately.

"My destiny awaits," Vlad cried, flying toward the exit. Danny glared and flew after Vlad, hurling ecto-blasts at him. None of them hit; an invisible shield protected Vlad. Vlad turned and grinned maliciously. He aimed the Reality Gauntlet with the intention of getting rid of Danny Phantom forever. He fired. Danny panicked and held out his hand to protect himself. The beam made contact. Danny realized what was happening and tossed the beam back at Vlad with his own victorious glance. Vlad's eyes widened. There was an explosion. And then, nothing but light.


	9. Virtual Reality

Author's Note:

Tonight I'll be uploading my two favorite chapters of the story, 9 and 10. I really hope you guys enjoy the RANDOM INSANITY 8D

Chapter 9: Virtual Reality

Sasha's Lab

"Ugh… why does this keep happening to us?" Sam wondered as her consciousness returned. She sat up and looked around.

"Oh so close," came a maniacal voice from the other side of the room. "But no cigar." Vlad grinned and aimed the gauntlet at Danny, who was lying in another corner. Nothing happened. Vlad smacked his forehead with his left hand and glanced at the gauntlet. Only two of the Reality Gems were in place; the triangular power source and the Gem of Form.

"Looks like you're the one who's missing something," Tucker said with a smirk. He threw a red energy beam at Vlad. The beam missed, hitting a nearby chair. The chair growled and started to hop around.

"…Tuck?" Danny asked.

"Whoa! That's unusual…" Tucker looked at his hands. Suddenly, he had an answer. He was holding the Gem of Life. "And now it's not! …Yowch!" The gem suddenly burned his hand, and he let go of it. Vlad seized the moment and hit Tucker with a blast of yellow.

Danny gasped and leaped away. Jazz, who had just come to her senses, looked at Tucker in confusion. Danny couldn't hold back a snigger when he realized what had happened. The beam of energy had transformed Tucker into the spitting image of Valerie Gray.

"…Why is everyone looking at me like that?" Tucker asked. His voice hadn't changed. He picked up the Gem of Life and stared into it, trying to see his reflection. "…Oh no you didn't!" He dropped the gem again, this time in shock. "This… this is sick and wrong!"

"Knowing Vlad, it could have been worse," Danny quipped.

"That just leaves the Gem of Fantasy," Sam said to herself. She looked around the lab, hoping that Danny would distract Vlad with snide comments long enough for her to find it.

Freakshow's body stood in front of the Brain Tumbler, but Freakshow was still lost in his own mind. Instead, another personality looked through his eyes. Lydia glanced at everybody in the room, trying to determine the situation. It was only when she raised an arm to attack Vlad that she noticed her black gloves and long trench coat. She gasped. "What… how did I get here?" she wondered.

Danny and Vlad shot ecto-blasts at each other, moving around the room at death-defying speeds. Vlad lunged at Danny with the Reality Gauntlet. Danny caught his arm and threw an uppercut, sending Vlad flying toward the ceiling. The villain rubbed his head and glared at Danny. He fired a yellow beam at Danny. Danny quickly dodged. The beam hit the twisting staircase that lead to the Geodesic Psychoisolation Chamber, turning the pathway into a thin piece of rope. The Gem of Fantasy, which had been sitting at the top of the staircase, fell and bounced off of the Brain Tumbler, landing right in front of Lydia. Lydia picked up the gem with Freakshow's hand and stared at it. It began to glow. Before she could realize what was happening, the gem flashed brightly.

Lydia was now standing in front of Freakshow. The two looked at each other awkwardly. Freakshow smiled. Lydia was caught off guard by such an open expression, but for some reason it only drew her closer to him. They looked into each other's eyes and saw endless despair, overshadowed by each other's reflections. Freakshow's warm hand grasped Lydia's. Her ghostly aura turned pink for a brief second. She remembered something Freakshow had said when he was holding Danny's parents captive. "Sometimes I think even I love ghosts more than me." Their eyes communicated all of their thoughts and feelings, but Lydia felt like filling the silence with a witty comment.

"I've always loved you more than any ghost," she admitted quietly. They kissed.

Freakshow smirked as they parted. "It's good to be back," he said.

Of all the onlookers, Jazz had the most dumbfounded look on her face. "What!? That… that's impossible!"

"Just when I thought I'd seen it all," Sam said disgustedly. Freakshow shot a glare at her. She pointed at the ground. Freakshow looked down and smiled gleefully when he saw the Gem of Fantasy smoking at his feet.

"I'll take that!" Vlad swooped down and snatched the blue gem away. He headed for Tucker to get the Gem of Life. Jazz threw a telekinetic punch and threw Vlad back.

"Gah! I'm still not used to that," Vlad muttered.

"Nice shot," Raz congratulated. He threw in a psi-blast to further annoy Vlad.

"Where have you been all this time?" Tucker asked, putting his hands on Valerie's hips.

"It took me a while to reorient myself," Raz answered. "Something about that glove must have messed with my astr—" And then Raz noticed the change. "Whoah… does that happen often?"

"Surprisingly, no," Tucker responded, looking down at his new body in disbelief. He didn't expect a green creature to bite his hand and take away the Gem of Life. "Ow! Hey!"

"That makes one each," Freakshow directed at Vlad. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do it my way." Lydia glared at Vlad and summoned a wave of tattoos. "Well, her way. You get the idea."

"I'd rather do it this way," Vlad countered. He multiplied himself by five and aimed five Reality Gauntlets at Lydia.

Something clicked. A second later, a question mark landed at the feet of the original Vlad. He didn't even have time to look confused before the grenade went off, sending Vlads flying in every direction.

"And that was…?" Jazz wondered.

"Confusion grenade," Raz responded. "They have no idea what they're doing now."

"…Isn't that a BAD THING!?" Jazz exclaimed.

Raz blinked. Before he could answer, a flash of yellow turned him into a carton of orange juice. Jazz narrowly avoided a beam that transformed the tree-stump entrance into a baseball bat. One Vlad hit the Brain Tumbler and made it into a cement mixer. The Psi-Portal fell into the mixer.

"Take cover!" Tucker shouted, jumping behind the mixer. It couldn't possibly hurt him now, right?

"Danny, catch!" Sam called. She grabbed the Gem of Fantasy and tossed it to the ghost boy. "Getting the Reality Gauntlet together is our best chance at getting this madness under control!"

"Great idea," Freakshow said. He wrapped his arm around Lydia's shoulder. The couple flew at one Vlad, took the gauntlet, and plugged the Gem of Life into place.

Danny caught the blue gem and prepared to fend off Freakshow. The gem activated immediately. Without warning, Danny found himself holding the Fenton Thermos against Lydia and the ghostly version of Freakshow. He didn't need to think twice to hit the button on the thermos. Freakshow and Lydia screamed in otherworldly anger as they were sucked into the ghost trap. Danny collected the gauntlet and added the Gem of Fantasy to it. Sam and Jazz cheered. He put the gauntlet on and stared at it, concentrating.

"…How do you turn it on, again?" he asked. Sam and Jazz smacked their foreheads. "Oh, nevermind. Just change all this stuff back to normal," Danny told the gauntlet. The bat returned to a stump. The piece of rope grew back into a staircase. The orange juice fell on its side and changed back into Raz, who felt slightly nauseous. And the cement mixer reverted back to a damaged Brain Tumbler, with a damaged Psi-Portal stuck inside of it.

Danny's command hadn't been specific enough to restore Tucker's original form. Tuck opened Valerie's eyes and looked right into the receiving end of the tumbler. His eyes glazed over and a small vortex opened near his forehead.

"Something tells me that's not good," Raz said, pointing to the vortex.

Sam sighed. "Does anyone else wish this day was over?"

"I command you to stop!" Danny shouted at the vortex, aiming the Reality Gauntlet menacingly. Nothing happened. He shrugged. He and the five Vlads were sucked directly into the vortex. Jazz tried to escape through the tree trunk, but her astral projection had already been caught by the psychic whirlwind. She, Sam, and Raz were pulled into Tucker's mind. Not even someone as twisted as Freakshow could have expected what was to come.


	10. Your Brain on Video Games

Author's Note

My next favorite chapter. I mainly added this for the sake of lengthening my story... I didn't want to stop at ten as I usually do. So, more random hilarity ensues.

Whoever can name all the video game references in this chapter gets a cookie ^_^

Chapter 10: Your Brain on Video Games

"Hello, and welcome to the Axion Science Research Institute," said a soothing computerized voice. Sam looked around for the source of the voice, but she only saw a white hallway that extended for several yards in front of her. "This test facility is completely harmless," the voice assured. A second later, some kind of beeping device fell from the ceiling. Sam darted down the hall and escaped through a door. The room rocked from the impact of the explosion. Sam sat down and sighed in relief. "However, not all Axion Science devices are beneficial to your health."

"Coulda told me that sooner," Sam muttered angrily. "Where are you, you stupid computer? What am I doing here?"

"There will be time for questions later, test subject. For now, make your way to the next death- I mean- TEST chamber. Yes. Hurry, before the security system in this room is activated."

"The what now?" Sam asked. The computer voice did not respond. Sam looked for a door, but all she saw were some monitors and a desk with some test tubes on it. There were no buttons and no doors except the one she had come through, and that hallway no longer existed. She heard a beep and spun to the left. The walls on either side of the room were slowly rising into the ceiling. This time, Sam heard a digital voice filled with malice.

"There you are…"

Raz was about to pull down his goggles, until he realized he was still wearing the Psychonaut uniform. Old habits died hard. Besides, goggles would only reduce his visibility in such a dark place. He heard someone speaking Japanese. He looked around and saw no one else in the room. He shrugged and walked along the path in front of him. Raz seemed to be in a poorly lit building made out of old wood.

"Ancient Japan… home of sushi, Noh acting, and…" He heard a sword drawn and the sound of footsteps running toward him. "…Ninjas." As soon as he could see the glint of swords, Raz turned invisible and levitated out of harm's way. "Too easy." With one psi-blast, he reduced both ninja warriors to pure psychic energy. More footsteps came pounding down the hallway. "They never learn, do they?"

Jazz found herself in front of a dangerous-looking bridge in some kind of dark and unrecognizable universe. She looked down and found herself wearing a pink electronic power suit with the letter "J" on her chest.

"What kind of demented world is this?" she thought. She heard a horn and saw a demon truck materialize at the far end of the bridge. It was rushing at her at a good 50 miles per hour. "Oooh crud…" Jazz backed up and aimed a hand at the truck, hoping something would happen. For once, it did. She shot a beam of energy at the truck, knocking off one of the rearview mirrors. The truck kept coming. The horn blew again and Jazz prepared for impact.

"HI-YAH!" Danny ducked as a guy lunged at him with a disgustingly huge sword. Danny phased through the floor and hit the guy from behind. The guy growled and spun around. Danny couldn't react fast enough and went flying across the courtyard.

"Nothing will stop me from getting the sword," the guy with the giant sword said. Danny raised an eyebrow. "The sword with the power to rule the universe!"

"Oh," Danny responded. "Good luck with that." He pointed the Reality Gauntlet at the guy's sword and turned it into a bowl of rice. The swordsman screamed viciously and charged at Danny with his fists. Danny raised the Reality Gauntlet and hit the guy, sending him flying off the edge of a cliff. "Now to find Vlad and—" He was interrupted by a booming voice.

"FATALITY," it said.

Suddenly the environment changed. Danny heard a countdown. He was now in an empty church… well, almost empty. A girl in a blue kimono stood across from him. She brandished a pair of daggers and smirked at him. The countdown ended and she attacked.

Sam knocked over the table and hid behind it. The doors rose completely and machine gun fire pummeled her makeshift shield. She crawled toward the opening that didn't have a psychotic military robot guarding it.

"That crate to your left probably won't help you at all," the computerized voice said sarcastically. Sam looked to her left and saw a metallic crate with the Axion logo on it. She smirked and dragged the crate back to her hiding place. The robot stopped firing.

"Where are you?" it asked innocently.

"Right here!" Sam shouted, jumping up and throwing the abnormally light crate at the robot. It shot off a few rounds before being vaporized. Sam blinked at the charred ground that used to be a robot. "Exploding crates… genius."

"The crate contained chemicals for our completely harmless shoe-making division," the computer told her. "Please proceed. Axion Labs assures you that the following tests will be more user-friendly."

"I guess I don't have a choice," Sam muttered. She stepped into the room where the robot had been. "Hey… there's no way out of here!"

"Going down," the voice said. A trapdoor opened under Sam's feet, plunging her down a steep slide into the next challenge.

Raz blasted a few more ninjas into submission before checking his backpack. "Dang it… no smelling salts… but hey, I still have Cruller's bacon!" He pulled out the strip of bacon and held it to his ear.

"Raz, are you alright?" Ford Cruller asked as his head popped out of Raz's ear.

"So far," Raz responded. "Where are you and the others?"

"They took me back to my headquarters," Ford responded. "I can't leave again without losing my mind. But the others—Sasha, Milla, Morry and Lili are on their way. What's going on?"

"We're trapped in the mind of some random guy… well… a girl who used to be a guy," Raz replied.

"…Wow, must be plenty of issues to sort out there," Ford said.

"It's a long story. The important part is that there's a gauntlet in here that can manipulate reality, and there's also an insane ghost with skate-park hair who wants to use it."

"If I hadn't seen that guy myself, I wouldn't believe a word you just said."

"You can contact the others, right?"

"Sure I can."

"Okay… here's my plan…"

Jazz didn't think she had much to be afraid of. This was only a mental world… once the truck hit her, she'd be thrown out of Tucker's mind.

But that didn't happen. The truck's tires exploded and it came skidding to a halt, spinning sideways and narrowly missing Jazz. Jazz opened her eyes and blinked.

"You okay?" Tucker asked, blasting the dead truck out of the way.

"I'm fine… thanks," Jazz responded. "…I thought you'd look normal in your own mind." Tucker still looked like Valerie, but her power suit was purple with the letter "T" on it.

"Oh well, I'm getting used to it," Tucker said. "But we've still gotta find a Reality Gauntlet and get everything back to normal."

"Then we should find out where Danny is," Jazz suggested. "He's got the complete Reality Gauntlet. The Vlad clones only have the Gem of Form."

"Doesn't that mean we have to play completely through this game, though?"

"Helloooo? It's your mind," Jazz said. "You can control it."

"…Oh, duh," Tucker said, smacking her forehead. "Let's go." She snapped her fingers, opening a portal in the wall behind them.

"I don't have time for this," Danny said, floating out of the way of the girl's attacks. He threw an ice beam at her arms, freezing them solid and making her attacks useless. "I need to find Vlad and put the Reality Gauntlets back together!" He pointed said gauntlet at the girl and turned her into a penguin.

"ROUND TWO," the mysterious announcer called.

The penguin vanished and the dagger-girl respawned across the room. At the same time, a portal opened next to Danny, letting Jazz and Tuck into the game. Their power suits turned into light suits of armor.

"Jazz, Val—I mean Tucker! You guys haven't found any Vlads around here, have you?" Danny asked. The dagger-girl flipped toward him and lunged at him with her daggers. They didn't even make contact.

"I don't think there's anything in the Doomed zone," Tucker responded. The bloodthirsty woman tried again and again to hit Danny, but her weapons just passed through him. Exasperated, she darted around to attack Tuck. She pulled out a sword and parried. "Cool, we're in Soul Warrior 3!" She dodged another attack and swung her sword at the dagger-girl's head. "Nice moves, Yumi, but I've beaten this game with every character." Tuck knocked the daggers away and slashed Yumi through the torso. Her digital image disappeared.

"FATALITY!"

"Wow," Danny said. "He's a better fighter as a girl."

"Hey," Tuck objected. "You have a gauntlet; can't you change me back now?" Danny shot a yellow beam at Tucker, but nothing happened.

"That would be a no," Danny replied.

"I didn't think it would work in your mind," Jazz mused. "You'll have to wait till we get outside."

The world around them fizzled out and was replaced by a barren landscape. "Wow… we've already made it to the final boss…" Tuck explained.

"He can't be that hard to deal with," Danny said cockily.

The three of them were surrounded by a circle of lightning, crackling and destroying the ground nearby. A lightning bolt struck the ground in front of them. Vlad Plasmius stood where the bolt had struck. The copy smirked.

"Like I said," Danny added, aiming his Reality Gauntlet. Nothing happened. "Not now! Come on!"

"We can take him," Jazz said, pulling out an energy whip. Tucker nodded and charged into battle.

Sam found herself standing above a shallow pit. In the center was some kind of gun raised on a pedestal. Around the gun were flames and a deep chasm.

"The non-violent weapon you see before you is the Axion Science Handheld Laser Transmitter," the voice explained. "It is capable of teleporting the user to the aimed-at location. It may prove useful during the tests to follow."

"How am I supposed to get THAT?" Sam asked.

"Jump."

"Oh thanks, you're a lot of help," Sam replied sarcastically.

"The Research Institute is happy to provide helpful advice."

Sam got as close to the wall as she could. Then she ran at full speed toward the pit, leaping into it and hoping to hit solid ground. She landed in front of the device and picked it up.

"Congratulations. You are now in possession of the Laser Gun. Side-effects may include hair loss, calcium deficiency, and—"

"Yeah, yeah, I don't care," Sam told the annoying voice. A panel slid open above her head. Seeing no other options, she aimed the gun above her and fired. She came face-to-face with another maniacal robot. "Oh come on………"

Tucker and Jazz attacked Vlad with their weapons. Tucker's sword had no effect, but the energy whip wrapped around him and electrocuted him. Danny hit him with an ecto-blast and punched him in the stomach, throwing him into the sparks outside the fighting arena. The copy dissolved into ecto-energy, leaving its Reality Gauntlet behind. Jazz used her whip to pull the gauntlet to her.

"That was easy," Jazz remarked, handing the gauntlet to Danny. He tried to put it back together with his own, but to no avail.

"The more I use this thing, the less sense it makes," Danny complained. He returned the gauntlet to Jazz. "You keep it. We need all the reality bending power we can get."

"What about me?" Tuck wondered.

"You can get the next one," Danny assured her. "There are still four more copies to find."

"So, where's the next game?" Jazz asked. Tuck closed her eyes and thought. Within a few seconds, a portal appeared in front of them. The three walked through… and came face-to-face with a fifty-foot tall mechanical insect. "Seriously, you have got to stop playing these things!"

The robot fired like a Fourth of July demonstration, but Sam was already out of the way. She teleported behind the robot and ran around a corner, leaving the robot alone and confused. She gasped for breath. Without warning, the ground below her started to move.

"Warning: Devices in the institute operate automatically and without warning," the computer voice pointed out. Sam heard more machinery fire up. She looked above her and saw a spiked ceiling moving towards her. She fired the gun ahead of her, narrowly avoiding a painful death.

"What kind of research is this?" Sam shouted angrily. "How many ways can a computer kill someone?"

"According to test protocol, no research information shall be disclosed to the subject in question."

Sam banged her head against the nearest wall. Or at least, she tried to. Instead, she fell right through the wall as if it didn't exist. The next thing she knew, she could see a strange city… about a thousand feet below her.


	11. Psycho Sideshow

Chapter 11: Psycho Sideshow

Freakshow slammed all four of his hands against the wall of the Fenton Thermos.

"Defeated again!" he shouted angrily. He pounded on the wall a few more times, then closed his eyes and slid to the ground. Lydia frowned behind him. "Once again, Danny Phantom smashes my hopes and dreams."

"There will be other chances," Lydia said seriously. "Phantom will probably just send us back to the Ghost Zone, and then I can show you…"

"He'll throw me back in prison," Freakshow countered. "He'll take away my powers and make sure no ghost can free me for the rest of my life! This time he'll show no mercy, I know it." He flew to the other side of the thermos and lay down, staring up at the metallic darkness, acting like he no longer cared what happened to him.

"Yes he will," Lydia insisted. She glared through the thermos at where she figured Danny must be. "I won't let him do that to you again."

"How can you…"

"Trust me." Lydia looked at him and smirked. "We just need to be ready."

Freakshow nodded, but didn't appear convinced. He sat up and looked at Lydia. "So, what exactly happened in the lab?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

Lydia smiled knowingly. "The Gem of Fantasy happened," she responded. "I wasn't expecting it to happen, either… but it did. And it was the best moment of my afterlife."

This seemed to cheer Freakshow up. "Then I'm certain it will happen again." He smirked and stood up. Lydia smiled and moved closer to him. They wrapped their ghostly arms around each other and kissed.

At that moment, the thermos shook, sending them both toppling to the floor. Lydia gasped as Freakshow's body pushed her to the ground. If ghosts had blood, Lydia and Freakshow would be completely red right now. Freakshow floated away quickly and shouted to the ceiling.

"What is the ghost boy doing out there?" he complained.

Lydia stood up when she heard electricity coursing through the walls of the thermos. "I have a feeling we're about to find out," she said. The walls glowed blue, and soon both of them were propelled out of the thermos and onto a raging battlefield.


	12. The Perfect Nightmare

Chapter 12: The Perfect Nightmare

"Tell me how to control this thing, now!" Danny demanded, shielding himself from several laser blasts. He held out the Reality Gauntlet. Freakshow reached for it, but Danny went intangible. "If you don't, we may all be dead!" As if to prove his point, an energy bomb landed behind his shield and exploded. The three of them went flying in different directions.

Tucker and Jazz were fighting back to back, Tucker with an energy sword and Jazz with dual energy pistols. Aliens of all kinds swarmed around them, trying to tear them limb from limb.

Raz rolled over another ninja with his levitation ball, inadvertently rolling through a wall and into the raging battle. A giant muscular alien smacked Raz off-balance and tried to pummel him into the ground. Fortunately, Raz's shield stopped a few hits, and he had time to retaliate with a psi-blast.

Sam was still free-falling above the battlefield. She didn't panic… after all, she had the Laser Gun. She just needed to find a place to land. She aimed at what appeared to be the highest vantage point and fired. Her boots touched metal. She fell on her back and sighed in relief… a feeling that vanished when she realized the metal thing she had landed on was moving. One of the insect's antennae aimed at Sam and fired a missile. Sam rolled out of the way. More missiles flew toward her. She got up and ran down the insect's body, barely dodging its attacks. The second she had a moment to think, she aimed and fired at the base of the antenna. Maybe the insect's armor couldn't be damaged, but the antenna wouldn't fire at itself, right?

Danny picked himself up and blasted a few aliens coming his way. He looked around the battlefield, but Lydia and Freakshow had disappeared. He cursed himself for letting them out of his sight, but soon the alien army brought his mind back to the problem at hand. There was only one way to take on so many opponents at once. Danny took a deep breath and let out a ghostly wail. Droves of aliens were vaporized. Even the mechanical insect took a hit.

Sam looked down when she heard the horrible screaming and felt the insect stumble. "Danny?" She watched as Danny took out half of the aliens in the vicinity. Then, the ghost boy collapsed. "Danny!!!"

"I guess that's what happens when you use up too much ecto-energy," Vlad said sinisterly. Sam gasped and turned around. "And he can't change back to his human form here, so he's out of luck." Vlad smirked and threw an ecto-beam at Sam. She teleported out of the way. "What… how do you people keep surprising me like that?" he muttered.

"Just lucky," Sam quipped. She smirked and pointed. Vlad looked behind him… just in time to get hit by a missile. The copy exploded into a combination of ecto goo and psychic energy, and the Reality Gauntlet slid down the side of the insect. Sam aimed the gun at the ground and fired, getting there just in time to catch the gauntlet. Then she zapped herself to Danny's side and checked to make sure he was okay.

Lydia jumped at the opportunity. A wave of tattoos surrounded and contained Sam. Freakshow appeared next to Danny and reached for the gauntlet again. But the gauntlet had a mind of its own. It shocked Freakshow and brought Danny to his feet. Danny blinked and shook his head.

"Give me the gauntlet," Freakshow commanded, "or my girlfriend will destroy yours." Lydia grinned evilly and tightened the tattoo prison.

"Nice try," Danny said, completely ignoring the girlfriend comment. "Maybe next time you'll capture someone who can't defend themselves." At that moment, a beam of yellow broke through the tattoos, transforming them into dust. Sam fell to the ground and teleported to Danny's side. "Whoah… since when can you do that?" Danny asked.

"Since some psycho computer tried to destroy me," Sam responded. "It's a long and annoying story."

Freakshow and Lydia tried to escape again, but Danny was ready this time. He sucked them back into the Fenton Thermos, and then used his own Reality Gauntlet to change the thermos into a ghost-proof jail cell. "So, what's your decision?" Danny asked in a business-like tone. Freakshow grimaced.

"No deal," Lydia said for him. "Not unless you're willing to offer us something in return."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm the one with the all-powerful ghost item," Danny said, brandishing his gauntlet.

"And in case you haven't noticed, you don't have time to negotiate," Freakshow responded. An explosion went off nearby. "I only have one condition. Agree, and the combination is yours."

"Normally, I'd ignore any offer these guys throw out," Sam said. "But in this case, he does have a point."

Danny sighed. "What's the condition?"

"After this is over, let me stay in ghost form," Freakshow suggested. "It's the least you can do after ruining my human life."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Deal."

"Alright. The combination is yellow, blue, yellow, red, blue." Danny punched the corresponding gems and held up the gauntlet in triumph. Nothing happened. "…Did I mention you need to hit the power gem, just to make sure it works?" Freakshow smiled sheepishly, revealing two sets of fangs. Danny smirked and touched the orange triangle gem.

Tucker and Jazz were surrounded. One of the larger aliens stepped forward and brandished a massive hammer. At that moment, Jazz's gauntlet lit up. Copies of the reality gems filled the empty slots. Jazz smirked and snapped her fingers. A wave of ecto-energy burst forth and turned all of the aliens into goop.

"That was convenient," Tucker commented. She stepped forward and some of the alien goo stuck to her foot. "…But messy."

Jazz's ecto-wave continued to engulf the city, vaporizing all of the remaining alien forces. Danny flew to the top of a building and looked around. Even the giant insect robot began to disintegrate. He smiled triumphantly.

But then dark clouds spread over the sky and ominous thunder crashed. Maniacal laughter echoed from every direction.

"…I hate games like this," Tuck muttered. Jazz shot her a glare.

"Thank you for your assistance," Vlad cried. "But now none of you are necessary."

A lightning bolt headed for Danny. He threw his arms up in defense, but the lightning never hit him. He opened his eyes and saw an ecto-shield around him. An ecto-shield that wasn't his. "What the…?"

"Whoah…" Sam dropped the ecto-shield and looked down at herself. Her hair and clothing had inverted their colors. She had ghost powers. Danny just stared at her in disbelief. The Gem of Fantasy twinkled in her gauntlet.

A similar bolt flew at Jazz and Tucker. Jazz created a shield with the gauntlet. She looked around and spotted Vlad… except that she could tell it was a copy. She still glared at it in hatred. Her eyes glowed purple.

Raz wasn't as lucky. He tried to shield, but his psychic energy mixed with the ecto-energy and trapped him in a stone orb.

Rather thank ask questions, Danny turned around and saw Vlad. The villain smirked. He quickly raised his gauntlet and fired a beam of energy at Danny. Danny counterattacked with his own glove. Sam threw in a little extra power, and the two of them began to repel Vlad's attack. Vlad saw what would happen and teleported out of the way. He appeared behind them and tried to hit them. Sam shielded while Danny pulled both of them away. They both shot ecto-beams at Vlad. The battle continued, but soon one side would have to change their tactics.

Meanwhile, Jazz captured the Vlad copy in a psychic bubble and smirked. Tuck prepared to attack from behind. She dropped the shield and Tuck lunged, but the copy was gone. Jazz immediately shielded herself. Vlad phased through her shield and reached for her neck. He made contact for a brief second. A thousand volts blasted through his body, sending him flying away. Jazz turned on him. "You should give up," she advised. "It's three reality benders against two. You can't win."

"I'll take my chances," Vlad muttered. He hurled an energy beam at Tucker. Jazz teleported, caught the beam, and redirected it to Raz's prison. The rock orb shattered. But Raz wasn't inside.

"No! We lost him!" Tuck exclaimed.

"He's fine," Jazz said calmly. "Someone pulled his astral projection out of your mind."

Tuck raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell?"

"I can sense them," Jazz replied with a shrug. She concentrated on Vlad. He threw three more attacks at her, but a psychic barrier neutralized them. Vlad's cape caught on fire. Then his hair burst into flames and he screamed. Jazz threw one final psi-blast. This time the copy was vaporized. Tuck watched in awe and a little bit of fear. She saw Vlad's gauntlet fall to the ground and jumped for it. It slipped through his hands, flying toward the other battle. Jazz flew after it.

"Not fair!" Tucker cried. She ran after Jazz.

Sasha's Lab—minutes away from the inevitable detonation (supposedly)

Raz shook his head and opened his eyes. Sasha, Milla, Oleander and Ford looked at him with concern.

"You okay, kid?" Oleander asked.

"For now," Raz responded. Then someone glomped him unexpectedly.

"Raz, you idiot!" Lili shouted. "Haven't you learned not to mess with broken psychic technology by now?"

Raz chuckled. "It's not like the stuff is easy to avoid." He turned and kissed Lili quickly. "How did I get here?"

"It's not simple stuff," Ford explained. He pointed to Tucker's body. Wires connected the portal on her forehead to the almost-repaired Brain Tumbler. "This doohickey pulled you out. But it could have easily extracted any one of your friends, too. We didn't have time to fix its specificity."

Raz gasped. "But doesn't that mean it could pull out the bad guys?"

Awkward silence.

"His fault," Sasha remarked, pointing accusatively at Ford. "If I had had more time, we wouldn't be extracting astral-projections at random."

"Can you guys fix it now?" Raz asked expectantly.

"It would take a few hours," Ford warned. Raz sighed.

"I'd better go back in there and make sure they're okay."

"Not without backup you're not," Lili declared. "I'm not missing out on another awesome psychic adventure." She and Raz shared a smile.

"I'll come with you," Milla volunteered. "You kids need SOME kind of supervision in there."

"Good idea," Raz agreed.

Sasha started to protest, but realized they didn't have time to argue. He looked at Milla. "Be careful," he said, trying not to let too much emotion into his words.

Milla winked at him. "You know I will, sweetie."

With that, Ford fired up his crazy contraption and sent Raz, Lili and Milla plummeting to their doom.


	13. Out of Your Mindscape

Chapter 13: Out of Your Mindscape

The Science Lab

The portal to the Ghost Zone opened, dropping Raz, Lili and Milla into a strange fusion of the Fenton lab and Sasha's lab. A winding staircase led up to a circular opening in the ceiling. Pieces of ghost-fighting equipment were scattered everywhere. Lili raised an eyebrow at a syringe labeled "Ecto-Dejecto".

"What is all this stuff?" she asked, checking out the Specter Deflector. She picked it up and put it around her waist, wondering if it would be useful, or for that matter if it came in black.

"I dunno," Raz answered. "This wasn't what his mind looked like when I left…" He scratched his head and realized he was wearing his regular clothes. He smirked and pulled down his goggles.

As if on cue, two figures kicked open the door in the ceiling and jumped into the lab. The Guys in White pulled weapons out of their sleeves and pointed them at the psychics.

"Freeze! We are authorized to—" Their exclamation was cut short by a psychic blast that threw both of them to the wall.

"Wow… Sasha really trained you well," Milla commented. Raz smiled.

The VR Lab

"Simulation ended." A light went on. Sam, Danny, Jazz and Tucker found themselves in a black room covered in a white matrix pattern. Space-age doors slid open, revealing a familiar yellow hallway.

"What happened? Where are we?" Tucker wondered.

"It seems we're out of the video game realm of your mind. This is what your regular mental world looks like," Jazz explained. She floated a few inches off the floor.

"Great. Next question: What happened to us?" Sam asked. "Why are you floating, and why am I half-ghost?"

"When the multiple Reality Gauntlets activated, they must have drawn on our fantasies and made them real, probably as a way to distinguish themselves. My natural psychic powers have become almost omnipotent, and your closeness to Danny gave you his ghost powers." Jazz smiled knowingly.

Sam blushed slightly, but quickly focused again. "So if we're here, where's Vlad?"

"Hiding, I bet," Danny responded. "He knows he can't beat three super-powerful teenagers, so he'll try to find some kind of advantage in Tucker's mind… or a way to get out of it." He walked towards the open door and looked outside. It was definitely a hallway from Casper High. "I'm more worried about Lydia and Freakshow. They're probably off causing chaos somewhere."

The Logic Center

Lydia and Freakshow were still trapped in the cell. Freakshow was steaming.

"Cheer up," Lydia said, examining the room. "I think I've found our way out." She pointed to a console a few feet away. Glowing buttons flashed and the machine hummed electronically. Lydia sent a wave of tattoos through the bars of the cell and into the computer's processor. A few seconds later, the buttons started exploding and the whir became a din of crashing circuitry. Then, the technology around them dissolved. Lydia tapped the cage. It shattered into a million pieces.

"That's more like it," Freakshow crowed. The floor below them fell apart, and the ghosts fell into a dark pit.

Casper High

"AAAH!"

"Tucker!?" Danny turned around. Tucker was on the ground, holding her head and screaming. Jazz rushed to her side and put a hand on her forehead.

"This is bad," Jazz stated. "Some important part of his mind was just destroyed…"

"Can you fix it?" Sam asked.

"Only if we find out where the damage is," Jazz responded. "We don't have much time…" Tucker's astral projection fizzled and disappeared. "…Before he completely loses himself."

"So what are we waiting for?" Sam asked. She snapped the fingers of her Reality Gauntlet. The three of them vanished.

Fentonworks

The entire building shook.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome," Milla stated. She levitated herself and the smaller psychics out of the lab. Raz punched a hole through the wall so they could make it to the street. As soon as they were out, the Fenton household crumbled into the ground. In its place was a giant Ghost Portal. A menacing figure burst forth from the portal on a black pegasus. When the Fright Knight saw a few children to terrorize, he swooped down behind them and unsheathed his sword.

"Trick or treat…" He swung the sword. But the psychics were ready. They levitated out of the way. Lili landed behind the Fright Knight and stroked the ghostly creature.

"Nice pony," she said sarcastically. The Specter Deflector around her waist activated, shocking the Fright Knight and his steed. Lili jumped off and touched the horse's back leg, sending another shock through the ghost. This time, the Fright Knight burst into psychic energy. Raz, who had been charging directly at the horse's legs, nearly fell into the ghost pit. Lili caught him telekinetically.

"How'd you do that?" Raz asked, pulling himself together.

"Clairvoyance," Lili said. "This belt's supposed to electrocute ghosts. And this…" She took out the sample of Ecto-Dejecto. "…is a power-boost for ghosts, just in case we ever see the ghost kid that's on our side."

"Too bad you'll never make it past me," the Fright Knight declared, climbing back out of the portal. Lili gasped. "Yes… you cannot defeat the spirit of Halloween so easily!"

"Wanna bet?" Raz shot a psi-blast, but it went straight through its target.

"I'll handle this, darlings," Milla said. Without warning, the Fright Knight's sword flew through her and into its owner's hand. Milla's eyes went wide. Then she disappeared into her own worst nightmare… a world full of flames and screaming children.

"Now it's your turn," the Knight said menacingly. Raz and Lili exchanged frightened looks.

Elsewhere

Danny, Sam and Jazz reappeared in what seemed like a green version of outer space. Stars flickered around them. Most of them were emerald, but a few glowed yellow—and those yellow stars were coming closer. Before Danny knew what was going on, a small red creature exploded next to him, hurling him into nothingness. Sam teleported and caught him before he drifted out of sight. More exploding creatures went after Sam. She started blasting them with ecto-beams, but more came out of nowhere. Suddenly Jazz's voice rang in her head: "Shield. Now."

Sam threw a ghost shield around herself and Danny. Jazz fired a psi-blast, setting off the demons like a minefield. She locked onto another group and wiped them out with a thought. Explosions filled the entire area. Soon, the menaces were completely destroyed. Sam and Danny blinked.

"Personal demons," Jazz explained.

"Obviously," Danny remarked.

"So what do we do now?" Sam asked.

"The source of Tucker's disturbance is nearby," Jazz said. "Just give me a few seconds…"

Then they heard screams. One sounded like a little girl… and Danny recognized the other as his old friend, Razputin.

"You two go," Jazz commanded. "I'll repair the damage." Danny and Sam nodded and flew towards the screams, plunging right through an invisible Ghost Portal. Jazz continued her search.

All of their attacks were useless. Whenever he came too close, Lili electrocuted him, but he bounced back every time. Raz and Lili could only run and avoid getting sliced by the Fright Knight's sword. Their powers of invisibility and shielding were running low. If all else failed, they'd have to escape through the giant Ghost Portal, and then they'd be in even more trouble.

But that wasn't necessary. Danny and Sam hit the Fright Knight with a combined ecto-blast, knocking him off his feet. His sword went flying. He tried to counterattack with his own ecto-energy, but Danny and Sam were already behind him. Danny grabbed his shoulder and quickly froze his entire body. The Knight had been reduced to a mildly creepy ice sculpture.

"Thanks for the rescue," Raz said, panting. Lili just gave a thumbs-up before falling on her back in exhaustion.

And then the street exploded.

"Thank you for making this so easy," Vlad said, rising out of the ground and stealing something from Lili's pocket. He stuck the needle in his arm and injected himself with the ecto-boosting formula. Raz opened his eyes and saw Vlad smirking… thirty feet above him. And Vlad's feet were on the ground. Raz closed his eyes again and waited for the inevitable feeling of being forced back into his own body.

Meanwhile, Jazz approached the spot where Tucker's Logic Center had been destroyed. She held her finger in the air, sensing where Lydia and Freakshow had been. A few feet away, she saw a crack in space. Her eyes glowed purple and her Gauntlet lit up. The crack started to heal. And then everything went wrong.

"Well, well, if it isn't little Ms. Know-It-All," Freakshow said, appearing out of nowhere. Jazz turned and glared.

"If you're smart, you'll leave. Now." Jazz backed up her threat by causing the surroundings to ripple like a mirage.

"Hm, you've gotten more powerful," Freakshow mused. "And here I am without a gauntlet to call my own…" As he talked, Lydia floated up behind Jazz and grinned. Before the orange-haired girl knew what was happening, Lydia slipped into her body and fought for control. Under normal circumstances, Jazz would have been strong enough to resist being overshadowed. But this was the mental world… a BROKEN mental world, where ecto-energy had collided with psychic energy one too many times. Not even Freakshow was certain what would happen next. "…Lydia? Are you still there?"

Jazz closed her eyes tightly and relaxed the rest of her body. The green void around them flickered and faded to a violet color. And then the entire world vanished.


	14. Reality Overload

Chapter 14: Reality Overload

Whispering Rock, near the GPC—Seconds before the inevitable detonation

As the sun started to set, cute forest animals (and not-so-cute floating bears) went about their business peacefully. Squirrels gathered nuts, birds made their nests, and fish swam around Lake Oblongata. All was quiet… until the Geodesic Psychoisolation Chamber was decimated by a focused beam of destruction from below. The beam reached into the sky, turning it a ghostly shade of purple. Then it dissipated, leaving a pulsing orb of energy hanging in the air thirty-five feet above what used to be the GPC.

A cloaked figure peeked out from the orb. She flew into the air, looking around with glowing red eyes. Then she pulled back her hood and laughed maniacally, her orange hair blowing dramatically in the wind.

"Lydia?" Freakshow, still in ghost form, floated up behind her and touched Jazz's shoulder. The girl turned and smirked at him, throwing open her cape and revealing Lydia's full outfit.

"That's right," Lydia said, brandishing Jazz's Reality Gauntlet. "I don't know how I did it, but this body is mine! And so are all of its powers." She turned towards the lake and waved her hand, instantly evaporating all of the water. Fish flopped around in the empty lake. Freakshow blinked.

"So… this means we can rule the world together!" Freakshow stated, hesitating only slightly.

"I don't know," Lydia said, examining her fingernails carefully. "How do I know you won't try to steal the gauntlet from me?" Freakshow's faces twisted in horror. "I'm kidding," she laughed. "Of course I'll share… as long as you can handle the fact that I'm the one with the REAL power."

"I beg to differ," boomed Vlad's voice from behind them. He floated a few yards off the ground, but his head was higher than the pulsing orb. "I am the one with true power." He held up his massive Reality Gauntlet, ready to flick Lydia and Freakshow away. Lydia grimaced.

"You haven't the slightest idea what true power is," she sneered. Her red eyes turned black as she raised her own gauntlet. Vlad's face froze in an uncomfortable position as his body slowly turned to rock. A thirty-foot stone likeness of Vlad Plasmius fell backwards, crushing trees as it went and coming to rest on the mountains behind the GPC area.

Sam and Danny watched this in horror, hiding on the other side of the energy sphere.

"We can't fight that," Danny stated.

"What else are we supposed to do?" Sam asked. "We've gotta get Jazz back on our side."

"But we need psychics on our side to do that," Danny countered. "She's got ghost powers, psychic powers, and a Reality Gauntlet. What have we got?"

"Good point," Sam admitted. "As long as they came out of Tucker's mind, I can take us to them." She snapped her fingers, and she and Danny disappeared.

They reappeared in Ford Cruller's headquarters. Sasha, Milla, Ford, Raz and Lili were there, although Sasha and Ford still seemed confused as to what Milla and the children had gone through. Milla was holding her forehead and fending off questions from a worried Sasha, while Raz and Lili tried to explain to Ford how screwed up things had gotten in Tucker's mind.

"Took you guys long enough," Lili called when she saw the ghosts appear.

"What happened to the others?" Sam asked.

"While you were in your friend's mind, Oleander took Lili's father to a safer location," Sasha explained. "Ford and I sensed an extreme disturbance from where you were, so we took Raz, Lili and Milla to this base for safety. Your friend was still in my lab when the explosion happened, so I'm not entirely sure what's become of her."

Danny and Sam exchanged worried glances. "Explosion?"

Ford turned and pointed to one of the many floating screens around the center of his sanctuary. It stopped moving and displayed the GPC area where Lydia and Freakshow still hovered, discussing their plans for universal conquest. "That floating orb there decimated everything above Sasha's lab," Ford explained. "But I assume your friend's safe, since that thing's chocked full of his mental energy… among other things."

"As far as we can tell… it's hard to explain," Sasha continued, rubbing his temple and pulling out a cigarette. "Suffice it to say that the ghost energy from those gloves was enough to create a massive imbalance between the psychic and physical worlds." He lit the cigarette with pyrokinesis and levitated it to his lips.

"What exactly does that mean?" Danny asked.

"It means that the universe is gonna fall apart if we don't get rid of that thing," Ford said bluntly. "You and your gloves need to get up there and stop it!"

Danny and Sam shared another look. "We'd love to… but we can't do anything out there as long as some ghost controls the body of a reality-bending super-psychic," Sam pointed out.

"Sounds like we need a plan," Raz said heroically. "What do we have to work with that can beat a reality-bending super-psychic?" Smiling boldly, he looked from Danny, to Sam, and finally to Lili. Eventually, Danny caught on and shared the smile. Sam looked confused for a second, but then she made eye contact with Lili and smirked. They had everything they needed in that room.

"So, what are you waiting for?" Freakshow asked. "You can make this world into whatever you want with that gauntlet."

"What would be the point?" Lydia countered. "This world is doomed." She pointed to the pulsing orb of energy. Freakshow noticed it had gotten significantly larger in the last few minutes. "That is highly unstable, and will eventually tear this universe apart. We'd be better off returning to our own world and taking over there."

"But you're forgetting about Daniel and his posse," he reminded her. "If we don't deal with them this instant, they're certain to ruin our plans."

"After we leave, I'll make sure they're stuck in this universe," Lydia told him. "They've only got ten minutes to live."

"What's that?" called a cocky voice from below. Lydia glared down at a boy in an aviator's uniform. The goggles were pulled over his eyes. She sneered. "You're not gonna get rid of us just by thinking about it!"

"I beg to differ," Lydia mumbled. She sent an ecto-psi-blast to strike down Razputin.

The next thing Lydia knew, she was flying through the air. Raz, now floating at her level, had just slammed her with a psychic fist. His black-and-white Psychonauts uniform bore Danny Phantom's insignia and his hair was ghostly white. Freakshow lunged at him, only to be repelled by Lili's shield. Her hair and outfit had gone through similar changes. Lili's and Sam's smirks overlapped. They created a psychic projection of the Reality Gauntlet and used it to smash Freakshow to the ground. Danny and Raz fist-pumped, creating a similar telekinetic glove. The ghost-psychics slapped their projected hands together in a high-five.

"You've joined forces? Clever, children..." Lydia's voice taunted them. "But my fusion with this girl means I'm still more powerful." She started to superheat the air around Raz and Lili. Sensing the temperature change, Danny released a wave of cold powerful enough to counteract her pyrokinesis and to freeze her solid at the same time. Sam engulfed the frozen figure in a huge purple ecto-beam, blowing it to pieces. Of course, Lydia had already teleported out of the way. She hurled her own psychic fist into the fray, but Danny caught it and Sam counterattacked. Lydia flew back another few feet. She growled and vanished. Danny and Sam stood back-to-back in the air, waiting for Lydia's next move.

Without warning, a talon struck Raz's face and a claw grabbed Lili's leg. Giant winged creatures suddenly filled the sky... nightmare versions of Lydia's tattoos. The hawk tried to strike Raz again, but Danny screamed, unleashing a cone of destruction that took out half of Lydia's army, as well as part of the nearby mountainside. (Somehow, the giant Vlad statue remained unharmed.) Sam blew away the bat at her feet with a green psi-blast, starting a chain that jumped from creature to creature until the other half of the army was gone. Again, Lydia's plan had failed. But time was running out.

Lydia appeared on the ground next to the unconscious Freakshow. She removed his top hat and put her Reality Gauntlet over his forehead, concentrating. Figuring she was up to something, Danny and Sam shot psi-blasts and ecto-beams... to no avail. An invisible shield protected the two of them as Lydia pulled a ghostly figure from Freakshow's mind. Slowly, the mass of ecto-energy took shape. And a familiar shape it was.

"You've gotta be kidding," Sam said, slapping her forehead. Skulker, in full battle armor, stood below them. He launched himself at Raz and Lili, starting another round of ghost-psychic combat.

"Lydia... what have you done?" Freakshow asked as he regained consciousness.

"Sorry, dear, but I needed something to distract them, and I figured one of your demons would do the trick," Lydia explained with an awkward grin. She looked at Skulker with psychic intuition. "I see... he murdered your parents..."

Freakshow sighed and nodded. "Yet another reason to envy ghosts... he might have scalped me as well, if I hadn't taken control of the staff to brainwash him."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be... my parents were fools," Freakshow hissed. "Their death left me with the power to make a fortune, and to take revenge on those who looked down on me as a freak." Lydia nodded, but she could tell that Freakshow was still in pain.

"Is this the best Lydia could do?" Danny asked, deflecting more of Skulker's missiles. "We defeat this guy on a regular basis."

"She's just stalling," Sam responded. "We've gotta stabilize that energy orb before it's too late!" She hurled a super-ecto-beam at Skulker, but he dodged the attack.

"I'm on it," Danny replied, flying toward the orb with his gauntlet outstretched. He stopped and spun around when he heard Sam scream. "Sam!" Silently, Raz was calling for Lili, as well. She was falling to the ground, trapped in a rubber net. Danny teleported to the ground and caught her, but was unable to free her from Skulker's trap.

"Like it?" the mental clone of Skulker asked. "Completely indestructible, and it renders the girl powerless, as well. Now, let's see if I have one in your size." He fired another net. Danny and Raz were ready. They breathed deeply and released a ghostly wail, reinforced a hundred times by psychic power and reality manipulation. The net dissolved in the air. The sound struck Skulker like a train wreck, throwing him back and destroying several parts of his suit. Lydia lost her concentration and stumbled, tripping over the once-again unconscious Freakshow. Even the orb in the air seemed to react to the sound, shimmering in sync. This time the attack left Danny drained. He closed his eyes and started to fall.

"Danny!" Danny looked down and saw Raz shouting at him. "It's time to finish this," Raz told him. "We just have to execute the next part of my plan." Danny nodded. "There'll be time to rest after that ghost lets go of your sister," Raz continued. Danny opened his eyes and saw Jazz in front of him.

"This is the end for you, Phantom," she said, preparing to crush his head with her gauntlet.

"And I've got a tip for you," Danny replied, pointing his gauntlet at her stomach. Suddenly, his entire body was covered in a purple metal. "No one messes with my sister." With the help of the psitanium suit, he concentrated a phantom spike through Jazz's body, ripping Lydia apart from her and giving Jazz control once again. The orange-haired girl sighed in relief and fell into Danny's arms. But her exhaustion didn't last.

"Danny, Raz, you need to fix Tucker's mind, now!" she exclaimed. "The world will fade away in less than a minute!"

Sam, now free, stood up and knocked Lydia out with an energy blast. Danny grabbed her hand and Jazz's shoulder, teleporting the three of them up to the pulsing orb. All around them, trees, rocks and animals started radiating psychic energy, as if everything were about to vanish in a dream. They put their three Reality Gauntlets into the orb and focused. The psitanium around Raz's body lit up like a star. The orb began to shrink, and finally it disappeared. The fabric of reality was once again stable. The five heroes heaved a sigh of relief, certain that nothing more could go wrong... until Jazz noticed the power gem on each gauntlet flickering out.


	15. Return to Normalcy

Chapter 15: Return to Normalcy

GPC Area and Wilderness—6:01 PM

The Reality Gauntlet on Raz's arm rose of its own accord, sending out pulses of yellow, blue, and red energy in time with the flickering power gems. Before their eyes, the charred remains of the Geodesic Psychoisolation Chamber stitched themselves together and rose to their former height. In fact, all of the damage to the surrounding area began to heal. Lake Oblongata refilled itself, the mountainside reformed, and the giant Vlad statue shrank until the maniacal half-ghost was completely back to normal. Danny glared and aimed his gauntlet hand at Vlad, only to find that the gauntlets were gone, and that he and Raz were separated. Now that the fight was over, Danny's exhaustion took over. He changed back to human form and fell backwards, asleep. Sam, now completely human, caught him before he hit the ground.

Sasha's Lab—6:02 PM

Tucker opened his eyes. He sat up and took in the lab, exactly the way it was the first time he saw it. Next, he noticed that his hair was once again short and his beret was back on his head. He sighed in relief... being stuck as Valerie would have been insanely awkward. As he tried to remember everything that had happened, he noticed bits of shattered glass around the room light up. The pieces of the Orb of Tesla pulled themselves together, solidifying right in front of Tucker's eyes. He laughed triumphantly and grabbed the orb. Now they could finally go home!

GPC Area and Wilderness

Vlad Plasmius returned Danny Phantom's glare and prepared to strike. Suddenly, he remembered what had drawn him into this insane misadventure. He grinned evilly and teleported away. He was far from ready to give up... at the very least, he could trap his foes in this universe and have free reign back in Amity Park.

Sasha's Lab

Tucker concentrated on his friends, creating a blue portal with the orb. "Danny! Sam! Guess what I found!"

"Something that belongs to me," Vlad quipped, throwing an ecto-blast down at Tucker. He dodged and jumped through the portal, rolling toward his friends. Vlad flew after him, ready to tear the boy's arms off to get the artifact. But Freakshow jumped in Vlad's way, swinging at him with one of his four demonic arms. Vlad, taken by surprise, was thrown back into Sasha's lab as the portal closed.

"Give me the orb and no one gets hurt... much," Freakshow threatened, turning to Tucker. Jazz and Sam ran forward to protect him.

"You're the one who's about to feel my wrath," Lili said. Lydia loomed behind her. The girl shot Freakshow with a psi-blast that ricocheted back to hit Lydia. Now that Freakshow was once again weak, Tucker activated the Orb of Tesla, creating a portal to the Ghost Zone behind him. Jazz threw him through the portal with her psychic fist. Working together, Raz and Lili grabbed Lydia with their minds and threw her after Freakshow. The portal closed.

"So... are we done?" Tucker asked tentatively, expecting another ecto-blast to come out of nowhere.

"I hope so," Jazz answered. "I've had about as much chaos as I can stand for one day."

"What happened to the Reality Gauntlets?" he asked.

"They were never real to begin with," Raz responded. "I guess after fixing the psychic disturbance, they went back to being imaginary."

"After they changed the world back to the way it was before we got here," Sam added.

"But wait, the creepy circus guy was still a ghost," Lili pointed out. "Shouldn't he have changed back, too?"

"Maybe not," Sam mused. Everyone turned to her questioningly. "Back in that alien war zone in Tucker's mind, Danny and Freakshow made a deal. Danny agreed to let Freakshow keep his ghost form, in exchange for the combination to activate the Reality Gauntlets. Maybe when Danny's gauntlet changed everything back, it just made sure that deal wasn't broken."

"...Why not? I'm willing to believe anything right now," Tucker said.

Jazz's eyes flashed green as Vlad took control of her body. "You think you're done here?" he asked angrily. "Give me the orb." Raz and Lili took up their fighting positions again, but Vlad waved Jazz's finger at them. "You wouldn't want to hurt dear Jasmine, now, would you?" But before he could say anything else, Jazz's voice gained control.

"No WAY are you using my body as a bargaining chip!" she shouted. With that, her eyes glowed purple and she forced Vlad out through her forehead. In one last burst of concentration, she set Vlad on fire. He yelped in pain and worked quickly to beat the fire out, but by then it was too late... Sasha Nein, Milla Vodello, and Morceau Oleander trapped him in a telekinetic bubble prison. Oleander smirked, as if to say "what do you think about us NOW, skate-park head?"

"That was a tremendous show of mental resistance," Sasha told Jazz. "Have you considered formal psychic training?"

"Well, maybe..." Jazz began. Sam and Tucker looked at her questioningly. "But it'd be better for us to just get home now. Being a full psychic would be too much for me." She smiled apologetically at Sasha and he nodded. She may only have been a full psychic for fifteen minutes, but it had been enough. And she had a feeling that back in Amity Park, without the presence of psitanium, her psychic powers would fall dormant again.

Danny's eyes flickered open. "Where's Vlad?" he asked, sitting up immediately. Vlad glared daggers at him through the barrier. He sighed in relief... the fruitloop was under control.

"Taken care of," Sam responded. "And Freakshow and Lydia are back where they belong... in the Ghost Zone."

Danny grinned. "Awesome."

Tucker opened a portal to Vlad's castle in Wisconsin. The Psychonauts forced Vlad through it. "Well, Raz, Lili... other psychics... it was a pleasure meeting all of you," Tucker began. Instead of closing, the portal changed to the railroad tracks where Lydia had first taken Jazz and Sam. The Specter Speeder floated there, waiting for them.

"We get it," Lili said. "Get outta here, before more crazy ghosts show up and ruin the place." She smiled sarcastically as she said this. Danny and his friends smiled back. They said their final goodbyes. Then they stepped through the portal, and the two worlds were once again separate.

With a great feeling of satisfaction, Tucker threw the Orb of Tesla into the air and tried to catch it. Sam grabbed it away from him at the last second. "Whoah there. We don't wanna break this thing again, do we?"

"Ha, ha... you have a point," Tucker said.

"We have to do something with it," Danny pointed out.

"We can worry about it tomorrow," Jazz replied. "I'm beat."

Danny, Tucker, and Jazz climbed into the Specter Speeder. Sam remained outside, staring at her reflection in the Orb of Tesla.

"Sam, you coming?" Tucker asked.

"One second," she responded. She turned around and opened another portal. She tossed the orb through it and watched it float off through its new home as the doorway closed.

"Where'd you send it?" Danny asked from the driver's seat.

"Don't know, don't care," Sam answered. She climbed in and the friends began their flight back.

In the green void of the Ghost Zone, Freakshow hurled ecto-blast after ecto-blast, taking out his anger on a few useless rocks. Lydia floated in the background, waiting for him to calm down. She was the one who had really been defeated, but she didn't mind letting Freakshow vent. It was kind of cute.

"That Phantom thinks he can get away with anything!" Freakshow raged, grabbing a chunk of rock and crushing it in his fist. Lydia put her hand on his shoulder.

"We'll have another chance," she said calmly. Freakshow sighed and lowered his head. "And now that you're a ghost, you'll be more than a match for him." Freakshow looked up at her and smiled. She had a point... he and the ghost boy were now on even ground. And this time, he had his freedom... sort of. He knew the real world was easy to break in to.

"So... weren't you going to show me something here?" he asked, his confidence slowly growing, along with both of his grins. Lydia smirked.

"Follow me." They held hands and flew off into the vast reaches of the Ghost Zone.

The orb continued floating in a sea of random shapes and various shades of blue. It would have kept moving forever, if it hadn't hit the edge of a door. A black door. A door that opened inward. Around it, eight other doors led to eight other mental worlds. Gravity shifted so that the orb fell onto a circular path that connected the doorways. As it rolled by each opening, the name of each world could be seen. "Basic Braining". "Milla's Dance Party". "The Milkman Conspiracy".

Of course, the black door bore the name "Carnival of Chaos".


End file.
